C2 Agility for Emergency Management: Examining the Katrina and Sandy Responses

The Command and Control (C2) Agility theory developed by experts from the Command and Control Research Program based upon analysis of military operations, posits that a C2 approach is characterized by three dimensions: (1) allocation of decision rights, among entities, (2) patterns of interaction, and (3) distribution of information. An entity’s C2 approach is agile when these three dimensions can be changed as required due to a change in circumstances. The Institute for Defense Analyses has produced a handbook C2 by Design to guide operationalization of the C2 Agility theory. C2 agility becomes salient as complexity increases; and the complex, dynamic nature of disaster response environments suggests the applicability of C2 Agility theory to emergency management. This article builds on early NATO study panel findings that used disaster response case studies to validate C2A theory, and draws on existing case literature to identify what factors influenced C2A during Hurricane Katrina and explore how lessons learned from that response impacted C2A during the subsequent US response to Hurricane Sandy. The analysis uses C2A assessment factors from C2 by Design to examine these cases and recommends how the US government can achieve improved C2A during future responses to complex disasters.