The Pentagon Force Protection Agency has been recognized as the lead organization concerning emergency management matters on the Pentagon Reservation. It's selection was cited because of its initial incident management and coordination responsibilities in disaster-related preparedness and response functions for both man-made and natural disasters.
Michael L. Rhodes, director of Department of Defense Office of Administration and Management, appointed PFPA in December with the authority to oversee coordination of all emergency management activities. Knowing EM is a shared mission, not simply a PFPA activity, he understands that DoD components of the Pentagon reservation will continue to retain responsibility to plan for and conduct their own multiple EM and Continuity of Operations (COOP) activities.
The fundamental point and goal for assigning PFPA as a lead is to officially establish a focal point to network, and collaborate planning that can translate requirements into specific patterns of action to achieve unity of effort. The PFPA director will work in close coordination with the Washington Headquarters Services director, the deputy Assistant secretary of defense for continuity and crisis management, and all DoD components of the Pentagon reservation to coordinate and synchronize the execution of EM and COOP functions.
PFPA shall ensure that this effort is integrated with other Pentagon reservation security, force protection, antiterrorism, law enforcement, and fire/safety requirements. Rhodes signed a charter to establish the Pentagon Emergency Management Working Group (PEMWG), a subordinate body of the Pentagon Security Advisory Group (PSAG), to act as the coordinating body in developing and vetting the review of the many COOP and EM plans across the Pentagon. This collaborative planning effort will satisfy readiness needs, provide tools and procedures to accomplish pre-incident synchronization, and allow faster development or revision of living plans.
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