JP 3-28, page 95

National Incident Management System Overview A-3 civil authorities and federal governments—to participate in national preparedness activities and to be full partners in incident response. Government resources alone cannot meet all the needs of those affected by major disasters. All elements of the community must be activated and integrated to respond to a major or catastrophic incident. (2) Involving the whole community is essential to US success in achieving resilience and national preparedness. Individual and community preparedness is a key component to this objective. By providing equal access to acquire and use the necessary knowledge and skills, the whole community contributes to and benefits from national preparedness. This includes children; individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs; those from religious, racial, and ethnically diverse backgrounds; and people with limited English proficiency. Their contributions must be integrated into preparedness efforts, and their needs must be incorporated into planning for and delivering the response core capabilities. (3) Although the NRF is intended to provide guidance for the whole community, it focuses especially on the needs of those who are involved in delivering and applying the response core capabilities defined in the national preparedness goal. This includes emergency management practitioners, community leaders, and government officials who must collectively understand and assess the needs of their respective communities and organizations to determine the best ways to organize and strengthen their resiliency. b. Scope (1) The NRF describes structures for implementing nationwide response policy and operational coordination for all types of domestic incidents. This section describes the scope of the response mission area, the guiding principles of response doctrine and their application, and how risk informs response planning. (2) The response mission area focuses on ensuring the US is able to respond effectively to all types of incidents that range from those that are adequately handled with local assets to those of catastrophic proportion that require marshaling the capabilities of the entire nation. The objectives of the response mission area define the capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the environment, meet basic human needs, stabilize the incident, restore basic services and community functionality, and establish a safe and secure environment moving toward the transition to recovery. (3) The NRF describes the principles, roles and responsibilities, and coordinating structures for delivering the core capabilities required to respond to an incident and further describes how response efforts integrate with those of the other mission areas. The NRF is always in effect, and elements can be implemented at any time. The structures, roles, and responsibilities described in the NRF can be partially or fully implemented in the context of a threat or hazard, in anticipation of a significant event, or in response to an incident. Selective implementation of NRF structures and procedures allows for a scaled response, delivery of the specific resources and capabilities, and a level of coordination appropriate to each incident.