Guardians,
The response to the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill has truly been an all-hands effort and I am incredibly proud of the performance of our men and women since this crisis started. The location, size, and complexity of this oil spill prompted an extraordinary need for interagency coordination across the federal government and with the state and local entities throughout the affected regions. To meet this demand, Secretary Napolitano named Admiral Allen as the National Incident Commander (NIC) on 30 April.
In that role, Admiral Allen will lead the federal government's coordination efforts with state and local officials, appropriate members of the maritime industry, and international resources to stop the oil leak and mitigate the environmental damage. We will devote all the resources required to this oil spill but also must remain vigilant to our other mission areas. This will be a challenging period for all of our Guardians so please look after your shipmates.
For those not familiar with the NIC role, that position is designated under the National Contingency Plan and reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security who is responsible for Domestic Incident Response. View the picture on the right for a more detailed view of the NIC's organizational structure.
For current NIC information, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
VADM David Pekoske
