A former DOD official and founding member of the International Network of Women in Emergency Management, Pamela Berkowsky is the President of Blue Sapphire Strategies and serves as a senior executive defense consultant to the South Florida Defense Alliance (SFDA). While in the Pentagon, Pamela Berkowsky served as a liaison between the Department of Defense and federal, state and local authorities on domestic terrorism preparedness and consequence management. The National Response Framework (NRF), issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, provides a comprehensive approach to domestic incident management and response to all types of disasters and emergencies. It is built on “scalable, flexible and adaptable concepts” outlined in the National Incident Management System. The NRF prescribes key roles and responsibilities for prevention, preparation, response and recovery assigned to public, private and non-governmental entities across the Nation, and describes mechanisms for cross-sector coordination and integration. It highlights specific authorities and best practices for handling emergencies ranging from predominantly local incidents to large-scale catastrophic terrorist attacks. The NRF contains 15 emergency support functions (ESFs), and each ESF has a federal agency or department assigned as the lead coordinator. While DOD is the lead for ESF #3 (Public Works and Engineering) through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a Defense Coordinating Officer would be responsible for DOD support of all fifteen ESFs . The most recent NRF was issued in October, 2019.

1. DOD and Its Role in the National
Response Framework
Pamela Berkowsky

2. A former DOD official and founding member of the International Network of Women
in Emergency Management, Pamela Berkowsky is the President of Blue Sapphire
Strategies and serves as a senior executive defense consultant to the South Florida
Defense Alliance (SFDA). While in the Pentagon, Pamela Berkowsky served as a
liaison between the Department of Defense and federal, state and local authorities
on domestic terrorism preparedness and consequence management.

3. The National Response Framework (NRF), issued by the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, provides a comprehensive approach to domestic incident
management and response to all types of disasters and emergencies. It is built on
“scalable, flexible and adaptable concepts” outlined in the National Incident
Management System. The NRF prescribes key roles and responsibilities for
prevention, preparation, response and recovery assigned to public, private and non-
governmental entities across the Nation, and describes mechanisms for cross-
sector coordination and integration.

4. It highlights specific authorities and best practices for handling emergencies
ranging from predominantly local incidents to large-scale catastrophic terrorist
attacks. The NRF contains 15 emergency support functions (ESFs), and each ESF
has a federal agency or department assigned as the lead coordinator. While DOD is
the lead for ESF #3 (Public Works and Engineering) through the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, a Defense Coordinating Officer would be responsible for DOD support of
all fifteen ESFs . The most recent NRF was issued in October, 2019.