A newly revised U.S. Air Force directive on continuity of operations under emergency circumstances refers matter-of-factly to Raven Rock Mountain Complex, a largely restricted U.S. government facility in Pennsylvania. See Air Force Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program, Air Force Instruction 10-208, 15 December 2011.
Raven Rock, also known as Site R, has been operational since 1953 for purposes of emergency communications, disaster relocation and recovery. But most operations at the facility have been classified, and the facility itself was rarely mentioned in official publications during most of the past half century. A previous edition of the new Air Force Instruction that was issued in 2005 made no reference to Raven Rock.
This report serves as a landscape assessment and toolbox from which local governments can negotiate an informed position when it comes to the levers available to them and includes a first-of-its kind analysis of eight executed community benefits agreements.
When a hurricane hits, it’s all hands on deck – that goes for federal data, too. Pulling back from our investments in timely, accurate, and accessible public data will only make us less prepared and put us all at greater risk.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.