From the Battlefield to the Homeland: Building the Case for Network-Centric Response

Our nation's ability to respond to natural or man-made disasters has remained relatively unchanged since the attacks of 9/11. Current response operations are characterized by the inability to efficiently produce a collaborative and effective response to incidents of national significance and address the challenges of the Information Age. The military has adapted network-centric tenants and principles from business applications to effectively operate in the Information Age and increase mission effectiveness. These tenants and principles can be adapted by responders to address current deficiencies and increase mission effectiveness. Implementation of network centric response is both technologically and organizationally feasible. Network-centric response operations would allow responders to meet the challenges and leverage the opportunities of the Information Age, resulting in increased mission effectiveness.