Mobile Command Center – A Brief Look At Its Various Evolutions

The Mobile Command Center, or MC, was, or at least was, a U.S. military plan to develop and deploy mobile, permanent, stand-by command posts for use overseas by the President of the United States in times of disaster and to counterbalance and respond to a devastating attack against the American people. In essence, it was to be a temporary command post established in an overseas location ready to intercept any potential attacks. The term “Mobile Command” referred to the fact that the military bases were to be mobile, able to move around the country if needed. Check this link for more info.

The original concept of this type of command post involved large numbers of trucks, armor and aircraft carriers, but as history has shown this concept has always been rendered obsolete. Today, the majority of these units are small infrastructures in which vehicles and equipment used in the operations in remote areas can be transported to the closest military bases. These facilities consist of mobile command centers and mobile fire departments. In many instances, fire departments may also be involved in the process of securing and supporting local law enforcement agencies in the area. In addition, some jurisdictions have also incorporated these types of facilities into their overall governmental structures. In the case of a major disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake, mobile emergency centers are often positioned near fire hydrants, malls, key buildings, bridges, and other vulnerable sites throughout the affected area.

Since these types of arrangements were developed, many different variations of the system have evolved. Initially, the Mobile Command Center functioned mainly as a large communications device in which the headquarters of the command and the support area could be located. This allowed the head offices to utilize cellular tower communications to communicate with base personnel and the supporting field forces. Later, these communications evolved to include the use of voice and data protocols to provide a command and control link between the public safety authorities and the field forces. In some instance, the headquarters is itself a Mobile Command Center that has its own command and control facility. Modern applications of this system have also seen the incorporation of highly integrated systems that allow field personnel to communicate directly with the base emergency operations center and even to view live video feeds of the area that the Mobile Command Centers is protecting.