The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

Anatomy of Crisis Management Training Crisis management training at overseas posts is basically a two-day event in four parts: first, a 30- minute inbrief with the ambassador, deputy chief of mission and regional security officer; second, a three-hour overview training session, primarily for selected local staff to review fun- damental Department of State crisis management tools, policies and principles; third, a four-hour table- top crisis management exercise for the Emergency Action Committee; and, fourth, a 30-minute outbrief with the ambassador, DCM and RSO. Variations on this training format can be arranged. For example, at one of my posts, the CME was coordi- nated with a surprise Alternate Command Center drill, where participants assembled at the ACC to test how prepared it was to support a crisis-response task force. At another post, a pre-arranged “duck and cover” alarm was sounded as a bomb scenario began. The centerpiece of post training is the crisis manage- ment exercise. For each CME, the trainer writes a series of realistic scenarios organized in a 20-page exer- cise booklet. The scenarios are based on situations that could realistically occur at that particular post. As the CME is customized for each post, each four-hour exer- cise is different. The post’s Emergency Action Committee is convened and is often joined by key local- ly engaged staff. Using the scenarios, participants think their way through emergencies that grow more complex as the exercise unfolds. The process reviews the broadest possible range of a post’s emergency action plan and tests it to make sure the plan would really work in a crisis. The exercise is conducted on a “no fault” basis, which encourages a more collegial experience. During the CME, the trainer acts as the controller, identifying and summarizing teaching points; making clarifications and suggestions; re- sponding to possible misunderstand- ings of Department of State policies; and guiding the team through the exercise. The trainer is a resource and a catalyst throughout the exer- cise. Measures of Success There are several immediate results of the training. As participants discuss the sce- narios, they review their roles and responsibilities, prior- itize responses, and go through reporting and coordina- tion requirements. They practice effective teamwork with other members of the Emergency Action Committee — and local staff, if the post chooses to have them join. They gain experience in applying analytic techniques to crises at their post. Sections of the Emergency Action Plan are reviewed during the CME, and suggestions are made to improve them. Teamwork, leadership and management skills for crisis situations are strengthened. Surprisingly often, shortly after trainers conclude the training, posts are faced with situations very similar to the exercise scenarios. Four days after I left one post, post management requested authorized departure for the very same problem we had reviewed in the exercise. Their review of authorized departure procedures during training allowed them to respond quickly and effectively to this event. A few months after another post conducted a CME focused on a coup d’état, a military takeover occurred in the host country. The ambassador told me later that throughout the crisis he used the Emergency Planning Handbook checklists I had distributed. And at several posts, even before the recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean, trainers had helped EACs work through tsunami responses. A Memorable Training Trip Each crisis management trainer usually trains four overseas posts every quarter. When planning these trips, trainers face the challenge of visiting several posts on a schedule that will meet each post’s needs and fit reason- Surprisingly often, shortly after trainers conclude the training, posts are faced with situations very similar to the exercise scenarios. F O C U S 56 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 Amelia Bell Knight joined FSI’s Crisis Management Training Division in September 2000. She has more than 20 years’ training experience, many with the Department of State and USAID. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago and was on the faculty of the University of Rochester. She is married to Foreign Service officer James Knight.