That’s true even for smaller scale incidents. The stigma associated with living in a contaminated area is real. We taught Goiania as a case study. Similar issues with chem and bio contamination as well.

www.britannica.com/topic/Goiani...

Unlike an isolated attack, and act of war by a peer or near-peer adversary who can hold the nation at risk with the threat of further attacks will severely limit our ability to respond.

Then subtract the warfighters who need to go overseas, and the consequence management picture gets grim.

I spent few weeks teaching at the Marshall Center in Germany back in 2015, and the instructors showed the movie. I had trouble with the details— fire suppression while wearing Level A HAZMAT suits being the most memorable — but overall I thought it was a good conversation piece.

Yeah, the teaching point is “what comes next?”

The IND threat is very different. Less blast and fire damage with fewer overall casualties but more fallout. The FEMA guide discusses these in a bit more depth. The models make the point better. Experiment with a 10kt at ground level vs. 100kt at altitude. The comparison will make you very sad.

Not yet. This might sound odd, but I have trouble watching movies about topics related to my work. The only exceptions are films I can use in the classroom when lecturing about National Security Emergencies. This film probably does. Not sure yet. #HATM

Example: www.domprep.com/articles/fea...

That’s outside my portfolio, but since you work in NYC, it’s worth thinking about how many more people would need help if an airburst detonation occurred there. The size of the impact from just one weapon would completely overwhelm our ability to provide care.

Example: nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

“Nuclear War Survival Skills”. Developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a forward by Edward Teller. Still a good read. oism.org/nwss/nwss.pdf

#HATM

Sample of my own academic writing about challenges related to peer and near-peer conflict (personal opinions, not my employer) www.hsaj.org/resources/up...

#HATM

“Nuclear Detonation Planning Guidance” 3rd Ed. We added airburst detonations (ICBMs, SLBMs, etc.) to the current edition. www.fema.gov/sites/defaul...

#HATM

“National Nuke/Rad Incident Annex” developed by my team in FEMA’s National Planning Branch (2023) www.fema.gov/sites/defaul...

#HATM

Can confirm.

They are driving Ubers and checking in on each other. The Swanson’s are doing yard work or working as per diem paramedics in the city and looking for opportunities to eat breakfast food with the Leslies.

- A furloughed fed from Iowa

Last year on Halloween I went to work in full Ron Swanson mode, complete with mustache, bacon, woodworking tools, and grouchy attitude.

Absolutely no one noticed anything unique or special about me that day, and it’s the greatest work compliment I ever received.