On Tuesday, following his fourth visit to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of the BP oil disaster, President Obama has directed National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen to establish three Deputy Incident Commanders to lead oil impact mitigation and cleanup efforts in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
The officials will serve under the Mobile, Ala., Incident Command Post, which reports to the Unified Area Command based in Louisiana and strengthen the administration’s capabilities to coordinate closely with local governments and meet the needs of individual communities.
In addition, Admiral Allen has directed the creation of an Incident Management Team based in Tallahassee, Fla., to enhance the Unified Command’s ability to adapt to evolving BP oil spill response and recovery scenarios as oil impacts expand. This team will also report to the Mobile, Ala., Incident Command Post.
“As this crisis continues to evolve, these individuals will help us make sure our states have the autonomy they need to respond as quickly and effectively as possible to problems that arise on the ground,” said Admiral Allen. “We are committed to empowering our state and local authorities with the autonomy and resources they need to meet the evolving threat from this oil spill, and that’s exactly what this new command structure will help us do.”
These senior officials join a massive response that currently involves approximately 27,000 personnel and more than 8,000 vessels coordinated by Admiral Allen and a Unified Command structure based in Louisiana that includes Incident Command Posts in Mobile, Ala., and Houma, La.
