In 2002, Congress established the Office of National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC) in response to the unique coordination challenges facing the National Capital Region (NCR) due to the region’s large federal presence, including all three branches; the intersection of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia; and a number of other complexities.
Four Goals Supporting Our Mission
In accordance with Public Law 107- 296, Sec. 882, of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the ONCRC mission is to conduct preparedness, planning, and operational activities, and provide leadership and coordination for more than 200 NCR partners to achieve readiness against all-hazards threats. Working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III, the ONCRC synchronizes and integrates efforts of the whole community in executing homeland security and emergency management activities to meet the National Preparedness Goal. To accomplish this, the ONCRC identified four principal goals involving extensive interaction with NCR representatives:
- Enhance Whole Community Preparedness: Inform, educate, and empower the whole community to improve personal and organizational preparedness.
- Coordinate Planning and Preparedness Activities: Enhance federal interagency coordination with respect to the National Preparedness Goal and integrate efforts with NCR partners.
- Provide Comprehensive Actionable Situational Awareness: Provide timely, accurate, comprehensive, and operationally relevant information for NCR decision makers.
- Respond to Incidents: Provide a tiered response capability, organized and functioning as an Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT).
Our Transformation
In July 2014, Congress approved proposed recommendations from the ONCRC Mission Review and Recommendations Report to Congress. The following recommendations transformed the ONCRC into a more effective and efficient organization, supporting mission requirements and partner expectations across all five mission areas in the National Preparedness Goals:
- Reposition the ONCRC as a direct report within the Office of the FEMA Administrator;
- Assign a permanent Director, pre-designated as a Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) for the NCR;
- Provide the ONCRC with the capacity and capability to provide federal incident management assistance to state and local jurisdictions;
- Strengthen the ONCRC’s connection to FEMA Region III;
- Restructure and refocus the Joint Federal Committee (JFC) to provide a more defined organizational structure and improved processes; and
- Co-locate the NCR Watch Desk to the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Joint All-Hazards Operations Center.
Our value to the NCR
The ONCRC regularly participates in NCR homeland security and emergency planning and operations at the federal, state, and local levels. The Office works closely with its NCR partners and FEMA Region III, serving as a liaison among federal agencies in the NCR, and the jurisdictions that comprise the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG). It is an active member of the NCR homeland security governance structure that provides guidance, oversight, and collaborative decision-making on NCR homeland security and emergency management matters.
The ONCRC also assists in coordinating and supporting regional training and exercise planning and execution in the NCR. Through its NCR Watch Desk, the federal component of the Regional Information Collection and Collaboration Center (IC3), the ONCRC provides continuous situational awareness for the Region, disseminating daily Situation Reports and incident-specific spot reports to its NCR partners and stakeholders.
see what the Office of National Capital Region Coordination's mission, purpose and response and recovery capabilities within FEMA, Region 3.
Role in synchronizing and integrating efforts across the entire NCR
2017 Presidential Inauguration Consequence Management Subcommittee
ONCRC co-chaired the Presidential Inauguration Consequence Management Subcommittee, assembling more than 35 federal, state, and local NCR partners in support of the 2017 Presidential Inauguration, a National Special Security Event (NSSE). This Whole Community approach provided a comprehensive and synchronized consequence management strategy with a clear understanding of resource capabilities, operational practices, and communications procedures. It provided an enhanced Interagency Consequence Management Plan (ICMP) to ensure immediate response capability. This was the eighth NSSE in the NCR during a three-year period for which ONCRC had the FEMA lead.
Historic Papal Visit
The historic visit of Pope Francis to the United States spanned three locations in two FEMA Regions in excess of one week. The ONCRC served as FEMA lead for the NCR portion of the visit, designated as an NSSE, working with numerous Federal, State, and local agencies to synchronize security and response planning and around-the-clock operations for the multi-day Papal visit. The success of this event resulted from nearly a year of planning with the Catholic Church, the US Secret Service (USSS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), FEMA Region III, Region II, DCHSEMA, and myriad NCR stakeholders. The complex and effective planning and coordination for this event serves as a template for future NCR events and established several best practices.
Long Term Power Outage Virtual Tabletop Exercises (VTTX)
The ONCRC and DCHSEMA, along with several emergency management organizations around the country, participated in the November 2015 Long-Term Power Outage (LTPO) VTTX, sponsored by the Emergency Management Institute. The exercise allowed participants to assess current plans, policies, and procedures in response to a LTPO and identify best practices. The exercise was based on historical weather events and response actions and included representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Department of Energy.
2015 Exercise Sovereign Guardian Series
The ONCRC Emergency Response Team Advance (ERT-A), FEMA Region III Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT), and DCHSEMA participated in an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) functional exercise focused on hurricane response. The exercise allowed participants to assess activation procedures and streamline operational coordination in support of incident management activities.
DC Silver Jackets 2015 Flood Response Tabletop Exercise (TTX)
The ONCRC participated in a flood tabletop exercise sponsored by the DC Silver Jackets at DCHSEMA. The TTX included multiple agencies and was aimed at assessing the overall effectiveness of the revised DC Flood Emergency Manual prepared by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The exercise presented a flood scenario in stages and, through facilitated discussion, evaluated the emergency plan activation process, inter-agency coordination and collaboration, and integration of the various inter-agency flood response plans.
Sections
- Executive Staff
- Planning and Preparedness
- Operations
- Logistics
- External Affairs
- NCR Watch Desk
Our Team
- Kim Kadesch - Director
- Kenneth Wall - Deputy Director
- Joe Burchette - Planning and Preparedness Section Chief
- Woodrow Goins - Operations Section Chief
- Nelson Torres - Logistics Section Chief
- Christopher Jones - Finance and Admin Section Chief
- Adoratia Purdy - External Affairs Officer
- Paul Sension - Situation Unit Lead
Our Key Partners and Stakeholders
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG)
COG is an independent, nonprofit association that brings area leaders together to address major regional issues in DC, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia, in an effort to create a more accessible, sustainable, prosperous, and livable NCR.
NCR Emergency Preparedness Council (EPC)
The NCR EPC is an advisory body which reports to the COG Board of Directors. It makes policy and procedural recommendations to the COG Board or through the COG Board, to various regional agencies with emergency preparedness responsibilities or operational response authority.
- DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (DC HSEMA)
- Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM)
- Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)
These agencies lead the planning and coordination of homeland security and emergency management efforts to ensure that their respective jurisdictions are prepared to prevent, protect against, respond to, mitigate, and recover from all threats and hazards.
Regional Emergency Support Functions (RESFs) / Regional Programmatic Working Groups (RPWGs)
These committees/groups provide necessary support to the planning and coordination of NCR homeland security and emergency management efforts.
Federal departments and agencies
The ONCRC coordinates regularly with its federal partners including the United States Secret Service (USSS), United States Capital Police (USCP), US Park Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Joint Forces Headquarters – National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR).
Contact Us
Visit or Follow
- @FEMA
- @FEMAPORTAVOZ
- @FEMAregion3