Silver Jackets teams in states across the United States bring together state, federal, and sometimes tribal and local agencies to learn from one another and work together to reduce risk from floods and sometimes other natural disasters. By applying their shared knowledge, the teams enhance preparedness, mitigation, and response and recovery efforts. Although each state’s Silver Jackets team is unique, common agency participants include state agencies with mission areas of hazard mitigation, emergency management, floodplain management, and natural resources conservation. Federal participation typically includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Weather Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and others. The state sets the priorities, and team members use their own agency’s programs or resources to support the team within the constraints of available budgets and agency authorities.
No single agency has all the answers, and leveraging the expertise, programs, and perspective of multiple agencies can result in more comprehensive and cohesive solutions.
why the name "silver jackets"?
Traditionally, different agencies wear different colored jackets when responding to emergencies. For example, FEMA personnel wear blue and USACE personnel wear red. The name ‘Silver Jackets’ was coined to represent many agencies working together to tackle flooding issues.
silver jackets program goals
- Facilitate strategic life-cycle flood risk reduction.
- Create or supplement a continuous mechanism to collaboratively solve state-prioritized issues and implement or recommend those solutions.
- Improve processes, identifying and resolving gaps and preventing duplication of effort.
- Leverage and optimize resources.
- Improve and increase flood risk communication and present a unified interagency message.
- Establish close relationships to facilitate integrated disaster response and recovery.
The Vermont Silver Jackets Team strives to advance these program goals for the flood risk management needs of the state of Vermont. The interagency team shares and combines resources, including funding, programs, and technical expertise as appropriate to meet the state’s needs. Team goals include fostering continuous interagency collaboration pre- and post-disaster; developing a common understanding of the opportunities and limitations of different agency’s programs; working together to improve the agencies’ flood risk management programs, policies, and processes; implementing high-priority State Hazard Mitigation Plan actions, including through innovative interagency nonstructural flood risk management projects; conducting outreach to deliver unified flood risk messages; and, in cooperation with the emergency managers, jointly participating in response and recovery.
Example activities:
Winooski River Flood Inundation Mapping at Montpelier and Waterbury
Brattleboro Chestnut Hill Dam Break Analysis and Emergency Action Plan
Coventry, Johnson, Lyndon, and Swanton Ice Jam Assessment and Outreach
Brandon Flood Loss Avoidance Study
Vermont High-Water Mark Signs
High-Hazard Potential Dam Analyses for the Vermont State Hazard Mitigation Plan
For More Information, Please Contact
New York District:
Jennifer Curran, Silver Jackets Coordinator, email: Jennifer.L.Curran@usace.army.mil
New England District:
Sheila Warren, Silver Jackets Coordinator, email: Sheila.M.Warren@usace.army.mil
Participating Agencies
State
- VT Emergency Management (VEM)
- VT Agency of Natural Resources (ANR)
Federal
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - New York District (USACE)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - New England District (USACE)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency – Region 1 (FEMA)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service – Albany and Burlington Forecast offices, and the Northeast River Forecast Center (NOAA/NWS)
- U.S. Geological Survey – New England Water Science Center (USGS)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA/NRCS)