Internal Impacts of External Constraints
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Top levels staffed by cronies with no disaster experience
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Demoralization of the professional staff:
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American Federation of Government Employees survey of 84 FEMA personnel in
2004 found 80% dissatisfied with its direction under DHS
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60% hoped to leave
Resignations: Many now working for private sector contractors with FEMA
Loss of institutional memory
Loss of personal ties among disaster professionals in FEMA, State OES, county (parish) and municipal first response agencies, disrupting the smooth assembly of incident command systems
Confusing chains of command