Holding Down the Fort
Continuity planning makes a comeback in government applications
Last May, the White House issued
Homeland Security Presidential
Directive 20, HSPD-20, which
mandates government agencies
to appoint a senior official at the assistant
secretary level as their continuity of government
coordinator to prepare plans,
budgets and exercises to test continuity
planning, preparation and capability. The
mandate, which requires implementation
within 90 days, is designed to ensure that
government agencies are capable of initiating
plans with little or no notice to remain
open and ready to deal with terrorist, manmade
or natural threats and disasters.
HSPD-20 also establishes a comprehensive
national policy on the continuity of
federal government structures and operations
by assigning a single national continuity
coordinator responsible for coordinating
the development and implementation
of federal continuity policies.
According to the directive, national essential
functions prescribe continuity requirements
for all executive departments and
agencies and provide guidance for state,
local, territorial and tribal governments,
and private sector organizations, in order
to ensure a comprehensive and integrated
national continuity program that enhances
the credibility of the national security
posture and enables a more rapid and effective
response to and recovery from a
national emergency.
The evolving threat environment has
shifted our awareness to the need for continuity
of government capabilities that are
designed to enable federal, state and local
governments to continue to provide their
essential functions across a broad spectrum
of emergencies. Continuity programs
began in the early 1950s when the threat of
nuclear war moved the administration of
President Harry S. Truman to begin planning
for emergency government functions
and civil defense. When the Cold War
ended 40 years later, then Secretary of
Defense Dick Cheney mothballed the alternate
national military command center for
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, located in Raven
Rock mountain—commonly called site
R—just over the Pennsylvania state line
near Waynesboro, Penn. During the decade
of the 1990s, continuity operations and
planning continued, but at a substantially
slower pace than before or since.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
and Hurricane Katrina reinvigorated interest
in continuity of government operations.
The Washington Post reported that
President Bush set up a shadow government
after 9/11 of about 100 senior civilian managers
to live and work outside Washington
on a rotating basis to ensure the continuity
of national security. Since then, a program
once focused on presidential succession
and civilian control of the U.S. nuclear
weapons inventory has been expanded to
encompass the entire federal government,
but most specifically, the entire executive
branch of government. From the
Department of Education to the Small
Business Administration, to the National
Archives, under HSPD-20, every department
and agency is now required to plan for
continuity outside of Washington, D.C.
Continuity of government has been
defined as the preservation, maintenance or
reconstitution of civil government’s ability
to carry out its constitutional responsibilities.
It is essential to maintain the fabric of
our constitutional form of government and
to ensure that the public has faith in its
government’s capability to provide for its
health, safety and welfare and to contribute
to the common defense of the United
States. Continuity of government is
designed for the full range of governmental
services, including the three branches
and all levels of government.
Since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the
definition of what constitutes an “essential”
government function has been
expanded beyond core national security
functions. Continuity of government planning
addresses the recovery of critical and
essential government operations in the
event of an incident or emergency that
disrupts service, such as a power failure,
where having backup capabilities can
quickly resolve the situation. It also can
be longer term, as in the case of a major
hurricane or earthquake, or similar catastrophic
event where services are impacted
for several days or, in some cases,
weeks. To prepare for this long-term
denial of service, government organizations
will need to plan for relocation to an
alternate facility.
Continuity of government is not just a
federal problem. Even states and local
governments must make every effort to
plan and prepare for the unthinkable.
Government services are susceptible to
interruptions or destruction of the magnitude
witnessed on 9/11, when New York
City fell victim to unprecedented citywide
and regional telecommunications
failures. Individual cascading events
evolved despite the city’s familiarity with
potential power outages, computer failures,
and the interconnectivity and
dependence upon telecommunications.
Only two years earlier, New York City
officials had planned for such events during
Y2K preparedness activities.
One incident that was not planned for
in New York City was the collapse and
total destruction of the city’s Emergency
Management Command Center, located at
7 World Trade Center. In addition, some
municipal agencies experienced problems
with storing and recovering vital records
at off-site locations. These difficulties
made access to records dangerous and
nearly impossible.
The tragic circumstances and consequences
of these events provide the most persuasive
argument for continuity of government
planning at all levels of government.
Government officials should ask:
• How does my agency plan for the
unthinkable at times when citizens
require its services the most?
• What actions are necessary to ensure
coordination among state, local and federal
agencies?
• What would happen if the governor
or a high-ranking agency official loses
their life?
• What can be done to ensure redundancy
and interoperability of communications?
• Has the agency provided adequate
resources to prepare, exercise, test and
validate continuity operations planning?
The answers to these questions are the
starting point for planning. Success will
require sufficient resources and committed
agency leadership. It’s time to get started.