An analysis of the potential isomorphic elements between military reconstruction operations and emergency management recovery phase

With a number of national and international military operations over the last decade, the need for reconstruction in the conflict-affected areas becomes apparent. Reconstruction operations executed by the military involve tasks like trust building with community leaders, construction or reconstruction of critical infrastructure and buildings, and supply of electricity, water, and heat. Food delivery, schools, roads, and healthcare facilities have the highest priority. Once the reconstruction effort is stabilized with high priority needs being addressed, additional communitybuilding is requisite. In humanitarian missions, the local population may need education on trade skills and fundamentals of societal organization. Emergency management, in non-military situations, deals with manmade and natural disasters and tries to avoid, control, manage, and eliminate, as far as possible, the inherent losses that result from major disasters. The four phases of emergency management are mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Within the recovery phase, emergency responders must deal with damage assessment, cleanup operations, and basic reconstruction. The focal points during reconstruction are on critical systems and facilities like healthcare, schools, and roads. Furthermore, the provision for temporary basic needs is crucial. This article explores which elements of the emergency management recovery phase and military reconstruction operations are potentially isomorphic and which elements do not exhibit isomorphic behavior. A conventional product life cycle is transferred to an operation life cycle to divide both operations into segments. This analysis leads to a deeper systemic understanding of the recovery phase in emergency management and assists technical managers tasked with these responsibilities.