JP 3-28, page 53

Supporting a Comprehensive All Hazards Response II-19 establish and maintain a shared understanding of progress and the assessment of transition criteria. b. Immediate Response. Under immediate response authority, local commanders must assess the situation and determine when the conditions are such that immediate response is no longer appropriate: (1) The criteria to provide immediate response are no longer met (e.g., saving lives, protecting property, mitigating suffering under imminently serious conditions), (2) The necessity giving rise to the response is no longer present (e.g., when there are sufficient resources available from State, local, and other federal departments and agencies to respond adequately and that agency or department has initiated response activities), or (3) The initiating DOD official or a higher authority directs an end to the response. c. DSCA Response. During planning, the JFC establishes conditions, objectives, or events for transitioning from one phase to another. Similarly, the JFC should assess progress and determine when objectives have been achieved and desired end states have been attained. Given the operational environment (i.e., homeland) and the fact that DOD is in support of an LFA, assessing DSCA differs in some ways. In the end, however, DOD support is initiated based on an assessment of the situation (usually from the LFA) and continues until a decision is made to transition all operations back to civil authorities. The JFC’s staff must still determine if it is making progress and meeting the commander’s intent and objectives. It is important to remember that there is no requirement to assess the entire DSCA response, only DOD’s role in the response. d. The assessment of DSCA as it progresses through the phases is about ensuring DOD meets the requirements requested in any RFA from civil authorities. Every incident or declared civil emergency event will be unique and a standardized assessment cannot be provided in this section. This generic discussion of assessment must be tailored to the specific situation. Success can be measured in a wide variety of ways. Assessment in DSCA events can be highly subjective due to the ever-changing situation. (1) Development of Assessment Metrics. The JFC’s staff develops metrics to determine whether operations are properly linked to the larger hierarchy of the LFA’s objectives. Metrics can either be objective (using sensors or personnel to directly observe the situation) or subjective (using indirect means to ascertain results). Both qualitative and quantitative metrics should be used to avoid unsound or distorted results. Metrics can either be inductive (directly observing the operational environment and building situational awareness cumulatively) or deductive (extrapolated from what was previously known of the adversary and operational environment). Success is measured by indications that the effects created are influencing the situation in desired ways. Given the dynamic environment in which DSCA operations occur, a metric used one week may not be valid the subsequent week.