What are broad statements of guidance necessary for the selection of strategies and tactical decisions?

Incident objectives serve as broad statements of guidance essential for selecting strategies and making tactical decisions during an incident. These objectives outline the desired outcomes of the response effort, providing a framework for the actions taken by the Incident Commander and their team. By defining clear objectives, incident personnel can prioritize tasks, allocate resources efficiently, and ensure that all efforts are directed towards achieving the overall goals of the incident response.

Setting incident objectives helps in establishing a common understanding among all team members and stakeholders, which is crucial for effective coordination and collaboration during complex emergencies. As these objectives are developed, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), allowing for ease of assessment and adjustment as situations evolve.

In contrast, command directives, tactical plans, and action steps serve more specific roles in the incident management process. Command directives are often instructions or policies issued by leaders, tactical plans detail the specific actions taken to achieve the objectives, and action steps outline the detailed tasks that need to be performed. Therefore, while all these elements are important in the context of incident management, incident objectives stand out as the foundational guidance necessary for strategic and tactical decision-making.