Suffolk Fire & Rescue Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Richard L. Stephens graduated from the Federal Emergency Agency’s National Emergency Management Basic Academy at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md., on March 29, 2018.

Stephens completed the full curriculum that provides the basic knowledge and skills to help meet the unpredictable challenges in the field of emergency management. He completed the five courses in the basic academy, including Foundations of Emergency Management; Science of Disaster; Planning: Emergency Operations; Exercise Design; and Public Information and Warning.

FEMA’s National Emergency Management Basic Academy is the entry point for individuals pursuing a career in emergency management. The academy offers the tools to develop comprehensive foundational skills needed in emergency management. Basic Academy offers the tools to develop comprehensive foundational skills needed in emergency management. For those who are new to emergency management or those who are transferring from another profession, the academy also provides a unique opportunity to build camaraderie and establish professional contacts. Students learned to understand the roles, responsibilities and legal boundaries associated with emergency management. It is the first of a three-level academy series in the Emergency Management Professional Program.

The curriculum is designed to provide a lifetime of learning for emergency managers and includes three separate, but closely threaded, training programs, including the National Emergency Management Basic Academy; a specialized and technical training program to develop specific, fundamental skill sets; the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy; a program to develop the next generation of emergency management leaders who are trained in advanced concepts and issues, advanced leadership and management, and critical thinking and problem solving; and the National Emergency Management Executive Academy; a program designed to challenge and enhance the talents of the nation’s emergency management senior executives through critical thinking, visionary strategic planning, challenging conventional concepts and negotiation and conflict resolution applied to complex real world problems.