Five policy initiatives designed to support the national template developed by the National Council on Readiness and Preparedness (NCORP) of best practices for community preparedness and response leading up to and during the first hours of a crisis include: Responder Corps--a standing reserve under the State(s) defense forces consisting of trained all-hazard responder volunteers; Regional Surge Depots- cataloging regional corporate sector resources for use during crisis; Crisis Response Officers (CRO)--designated as the primary contact in a corporation trained by and networked directly with local responders to catalog corporate resources and identify employees who can be integrated into the local preparedness and response plan; Guardian Corps--consisting of professors who would train the CROs and their employees, creating a feeder program for Citizen Corps and similar State and Federal programs; and Essential Public Network--a system connecting community, government, organizations, and assets to multiply the response and recovery capacity of the public sector, linking all community stakeholders and serving as a secure and dependable bridge to the local responder, law enforcement, and community government sectors. The most important issue identified for the post-September 11 and post-Katrina era is America’s ability to respond effectively to the next major terrorist attack or natural disaster and the role of local emergency managers and first responders during the first 72 hours of the crisis.