Resilience in Command Training: The Central Dilemma

A multi-module training course that will address contemporary challenges in the Fire and Rescue Service and the wider emergency services community and enable a resilient response to challenging events that society demands.

At a time when we are facing uncertainty from the lasting impact of COVID-19, the obvious indications in recent patterns of weather of the impact of climate change and the enduring threat from terrorism, there has never been a more appropriate time to look at the topic of resilience. It is an essential element of how society responds to its emerging challenges.

When extreme events happen, lives are immediately at risk. Assessing that situation and deciding what are the appropriate and proportionate responses involves taking decisions. Those have to be taken by commanders given the responsibility to act and deploy resources to mitigate loss of life. Their ability to make those decisions depends fundamentally on the speed with which they can develop a mental picture of the incident, how it is unfolding at present and its likely evolution.

The aim of this modular programme is to help individuals and organisations confront the issues created by the need to deploy members of the emergency services into harm’s way and provide a clear and unambiguous framework for decision-making. It confronts the central dilemma and helps develop commander’s ability to make decisions under pressure.

The course will include:

Historical perspectives of command and its failures drawn from examples of military campaigns
Insights into the psychological dimensions of command and how it can create inertia in decision-making, such as the difficulties that arise when commanders fall into the traps of anchoring and confirmation bias, and experience cognitive dissonance
Detailed case studies arising from recent terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom
Discussions on the lessons that can be drawn from these incidents and how they might be inculcated into the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the emergency services
Application of the lessons learnt through the enactment of a specific scenario that contains a clear example of the central dilemma.

Format

This course consists of five one-hour modules delivered online over the course of five weeks. There will be a high degree of interaction between the course tutor and students, therefore numbers will be limited to 12 people per course.

Audience

The training is aimed at the operational and tactical levels of command and no prior qualifications are required.

Pricing

The cost per delegate is £600+VAT, with a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 delegates.

10% off for FIRE magazine subscribers.

Tutor

Dr Dave Sloggett is well-known throughout the UK Fire and Rescue Service for his contributions to FIRE magazine, speeches at national and international conferences on security and terrorism and contributions to international fora on terrorism. His training events have been delivered at Brigade level across the UK Fire and Rescue Service. In September 2020, Dr Sloggett completed fifty years of working in support of the public sector in the defence and security sectors.