Operational Coordination

Description: Establish and maintain a unified and coordinated operational structure and process that appropriately integrates all critical stakeholders and supports the execution of core capabilities.

wide-audience, certain situations may require limited distribution to a particular audience, such as segment of the critical infrastructure or private sector. In addition, situations may exist where the actual content of an NTAS advisory will differ depending on the audience to whom the advisory is issued. NTAS advisories issued to the public will be distributed through public communications channels, including the DHS website, the news media, and social media outlets.
13 As NTAS Bulletins address broader or more general threats or risks of terrorism, the Secretary of DHS maintains broad discretion to determine the duration of the bulletin based upon the nature of the threats and information available. Because NTAS Alerts are based on more specific information, every NTAS Alert will include a “sunset provision” that marks the expected expiration date of the Alert.
14 IPAWS, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is a public alert and warning system that expands on the traditional emergency alert system to include more modern technologies to reach as many people as possible using as many pathways as possible. IPAWS ensures the President can alert and warn the public under all conditions, and will provide local, state, tribal, territorial, and Federal warning authorities with the capabilities to alert and warn their respective communities of all hazards impacting public safety and well-being via multiple communication pathways.

This is the capability to conduct actions and activities that enable senior decision makers to determine appropriate courses of action and to provide oversight for complex operations to achieve unity of effort and effective outcomes. Effective operational coordination provides for cohesive command and control in order to ensure coordination of the investigative, intelligence, and other activities in the face of an imminent terrorist threat or following an act of terrorism committed in the homeland.
Operational Coordination includes efforts to coordinate activities across and among all levels of government, with appropriate private and nonprofit sector entities, and across the preparedness mission areas. This capability involves national- and field-level operations and intelligence centers, as well as on-scene command and control centers that coordinate multiagency efforts to prevent imminent threats or conduct law enforcement investigative and response activities after an act of terrorism.

Critical Tasks
 Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders.
 Ensure clear lines and modes of communication among participating organizations and jurisdictions, both horizontally and vertically.
 Facilitate effective intelligence and information sharing.
 Define and communicate clear roles and responsibilities relative to courses of action.
 Integrate and synchronize actions of participating organizations and jurisdictions to ensure unity of effort.
 Determine priorities, objectives, strategies, and resource allocations.
 Coordinate activities across and among all levels of government and with critical nonprofit and private sector partners to prevent imminent terrorist threats and/or conduct law enforcement investigative and response activities after an act of terrorism.