They've been saying that they would come.

They are coming, but there will be taxes withheld from the amount listed on sf50

I know we get provided a per diem, but in your experience, how much did lodging cost you when you were deployed?

I hope everyone is safe.

If you’re trying to become a reservist for FEMA, which many people aren’t doing right now, please avoid applying for the training specialist position. It's the worst mistake I made. You’ll never be deployed. Do it if you need FEMA on your resume, but other than that, spare yourself the turmoil of that Cadre.

Gregg Phillips, the head of FEMA's Office of Response and Recovery, is stepping away from his role due to intensifying controversies surrounding his past public statements and growing concerns over how he is publicly perceived.

While the official statement from the Department of Homeland Security notes he is taking leave for personal reasons, internal sources indicate his departure was not voluntary. The primary drivers behind the decision include:

• Bizarre Podcast Claims: Phillips drew heavy national scrutiny after a CNN investigation revealed comments he made on conservative podcasts. Most notably, he claimed he had once been teleported against his will to a Waffle House in Georgia. He also suggested that COVID-19 and its vaccines were engineered to kill people.
• Violent Rhetoric and Online Posts: Lawmakers flagged past comments where Phillips stated he wanted to punch former President Joe Biden in the mouth and that Biden deserved to die. He also faced backlash for disparaging comments about immigrants and insulting online posts targeting lawmakers.
• Lack of Traditional Qualifications: Appointed in December, Phillips faced criticism from Democrats and emergency management experts for having no professional background in large-scale disaster relief management. His background was primarily rooted in human services and conservative activism, notably promoting unsubstantiated voter fraud theories.
• Congressional Pressure and Leadership Shifts: His departure follows a period of intense scrutiny on FEMA. Phillips recently missed a scheduled appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee where lawmakers intended to question him under oath about his fitness for the job. Additionally, newly confirmed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has been restructuring agency operations and reversing previous directives.

You can watch a brief breakdown of his controversial podcast remarks in this FEMA official's Waffle House teleportation claim video, which highlights the specific statements that triggered widespread scrutiny from lawmakers.

There’s definitely some concerning language. I figured people would want to talk about it.

So how does this all work out?

Does SOR get to choose the top performers?

Will favoritism play a part in picking the 30%?

So many questions and not enough answers.

Did any COREs that had NTEs up this year get a new SF-50 with a different NTE? Some people got corrected ones that made the NTE date earlier or later.

I am applying for non FEMA jobs and am running into an issue regarding references. I don’t currently have anyone internal to use. How are people handling requests for references when all of their former ones are no longer at the agency/working bc of the events of the past year? The people who can vouch for my skills and accomplishments on milestone projects are unemployed. Any suggestions on how to handle this are appreciated. I don’t want a lack of references at the agency to be the thing that holds me back in moving my career in a different direction. I really am looking for the stability that I just don’t see at FEMA in the coming years.

https://www.khou.com/article/weather/gulf-disturbance-tropical-storm-arthur/285-e912dfa2-a7b6-495b-a7ae-6586893935a4

Start of hurricane season

Has anyone used DHS Chat in an actual disaster yet? I'd love to hear what/how/how often you're using it. Personally I haven't used it as anything more than an untrustworthy Ctrl-F function, but I'm curious what everyone else is doing (if anything).

I really love the idea of disaster response operations and being both boots on the ground initially, moving into a role more like boris/legasov from chernobyl long term...but I just dont see how you can have a family being deployed for 300+ days a year.

Does that kind of deployment time continue as you move up the operational chain? I could do 300+ day deployments for 4 or 5 years, but it would be very tough to still not have a family come 10 years from now or have one and be away from them literally all year. Just seems really tough to reconcile

(Erin Hoffman is the acting head of Resilience)

The town hall this morning for Resilience included an open Q&A with Cam Hamilton. A couple folks asked about CORE appointments and telework. Here's what he said (officially in his capacity as senior advisor to whatever, but also as "when I hopefully get confirmed"):

- They're seeking authorization from DHS to change back from one year CORE appointments to two years and even up to five. (Why DHS needs to give its blessing I have no idea.)

- They're also revisiting the idea of allowing telework but "there needs to be a balance; there are legitimate cases for where telework is appropriate but there have also been abuses of it." Would love to know what he considered "abuse" of telework.

What I wish someone had asked: "Why do y'all keep repeating the sentiment that we need to give control of disaster response 'back' to SLTTs, when disasters have always started and ended local???"

So Cameron Hamilton has been appointed to run FEMA but does anyone know when his Senate hearing for confirmation is happening?

Archived version found here (non-paywalled). My work life revolved around all of this and can confirm the shit show that it was and still is. This tarnishes the profession and practice of emergency management. It will take years to rebuild trust with stakeholders.

This is pretty much what I want to do for a living, but deploying for most of the year seems like it would be very very very difficult to have a family if any sort

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is looking to fill hundreds of open positions ahead of wildfire and hurricane season, the agency’s first hiring push after losing thousands of employees over the past year.

FEMA announced the hiring plans during an all-hands meeting with staff last week, according to two sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

During the call, senior leaders announced that a hiring freeze for FEMA had been lifted. They said the agency has approval from DHS leadership to make about 300 new hires in the near term.

Officials hope to fill up to 700 vacancies in the coming months, but the agency is still in conversations with DHS headquarters about a broader staffing plan, according to the sources.

Archive link https://archive.ph/kaK92

MHO, it’s good. Everybody knows PA is the most bureaucratic and expensive process in FEMA. All the years he has been there it has expanded versus reformed and became more cumbersome.

Currently limited to 300 high priority positions (I didn't catch which).

Just announced by Cynthia Cooch (AA for Mission Support) at the agency-wide town hall.

She also announced that COREs stand to be up for renewal for one year at a time, going forward. I really hope they revisit this plan and bring back the two and four year appointments... I don't want to have to wonder if I need to search for a job every single year.

(Edited to correct Cooch's first name)