Remaining Flexible in a National Command Structure
All local agencies responding to an emergency must work within a unified
national command structure to coordinate multi-agency efforts in emergency
response and management of disasters. On top of facilitating close inter-agency
coordination, the strength of this flexible structure is in its ability to ensure a swift
response to an epidemic outbreak by implementing risk mitigating measures more
effectively and efficiently. Structural flexibility involves swift deployment of forces
to mitigate the incident at the tactical level, and to provide expert advice at the
operational level, in order to minimize damage to lives and property. Among other
things, the flexibility endemic to this command structure facilitates the building of
trust between the state and its people (Lai, 2009). This in turn ensures that
government measures are quickly accepted by the general public.