COOP in DoD – Part #9 of 10 – Training & Management

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This is the ninth paper in a set of 10 on Department of Defense (DoD) Continuity of Operations (COOP) targeted to the oft-overlooked smaller program; this paper’s topic is on Business Continuity Management. Written as part of the Master’s program in Information Assurance (IA) at Norwich University in 2011 and subsequently submitted to the Federal IT Institute, they provide a complete roadmap to create and operate a compliant, cost-effective, and reliable COOP program throughout DoD.

Within the federal government and the Department of Defense (DOD) there exists substantial pressure to accomplish the same mission within a reduced budget. As a result, smaller programs not meeting the standards of a “national essential function” (NEF) can find it difficult to justify the expense of implementing a Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program; however, these same smaller programs must continue to function and to provide value even in the face of local disasters. This, the ninth paper in the series COOP for a Small Army Program, helps the COOP practitioner who must manage the different stakeholders that and groups who are affected by and must support a COOP Program despite the budgetary difficulties.

This paper analyzes guidance from commercial, federal, DOD, and Army publications to provide practical suggestions for how the COOP Program can be managed and the benefits of a fully-implemented COOP Plan realized within a smaller program. This paper posits that implementing a cost-effective and pragmatic COOP Program within the myriad of organizations making up the federal government and DOD augments the overall security of the nation and correspondingly allows scarce funds to be allocated most effectively.