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DTIC ADA575337: The Role of Information and Communication in Disaster Response: An Overview

Only recently has emphasis on the information element of power surfaced as a key contributor to strategic success. The United States is just getting around to coming up with an acceptable term to describe the way the nation wields information as power: Strategic Communication. The government is still arguing about the pure definition of this term, but, to establish a baseline, consider the definition from the DoD's Quadrennial Defense Review. Strategic Communication is defined as: Focused United States Government (USG) processes and efforts to understand and engage key audiences in order to create, strengthen, or preserve conditions favorable to advance national interests and objectives through the use of coordinated information, themes, plans, programs, and actions synchronized with other elements of national power. Strategic communication in disasters serves several purposes: first, it can serve to manage the expectations of the public regarding the capabilities and potential assistance provided at all levels of government; second, it provides public information prior to and during the event to facilitate the safety and security of U.S. citizens; and finally, it can, if effective

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