"Against Desperate Peril: High Performance in Emergency Preparation and Response"

Those leaders who have attended the L-580 Gettysburg staff ride are well aware of "Against Desparate Peril: High Performance in Emergency Preparation and Response" by Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt. What began as a routine earthquake off the shore of Japan quickly turned into a crisis emergency that continues to challenge leaders weeks later.

In light of the recent crisis situation in Japan, all wildland fire leaders are encouraged to read the authors' paper. After you have read the paper, use the blog as a forum to discuss the paper with other wildland fire leaders.

Discussion Topics:

• Discuss an event that looked routine that turned into a crisis situation.
• How did your involvement in the crisis situation change your leadership?

Additional References:
"High Performance in Emergency Preparedness and Response: Disaster Type Differences" --a policy brief adapted by the original paper

Harvard Kennedy School, Taubman Center for State and Local Government, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

• Program on Crisis Leadership (includes access to articles, papers, case studies, etc.)