The Situation Unit Leader collects, analyzes, and displays incident information to support situational awareness and informed decision-making throughout incident operations. 

Course overview 

ICS-346 prepares emergency management and response personnel for the role of Situation Unit Leader (SITL) during incident operations. The course focuses on managing incident information flow, maintaining situational awareness, supervising field observers, developing status displays, and supporting Command and General Staff with projections and intelligence products throughout the incident lifecycle. 

Who is this course for? 

• Personnel assigned or preparing to serve as Situation Unit Leader during incident operations.  

• Responders supporting Planning Section information management activities.  

• Incident Management Team members responsible for developing displays, projections, and situational awareness products. 

Course objectives 

• Explain the roles and responsibilities of the Situation Unit Leader. 

• Determine staffing requirements needed to support Situation Unit functions. 

• Establish and maintain information flow between Incident Management Team positions and the Situation Unit. 

• Describe procedures for supervising and coordinating Field Observers. 

• Develop and maintain incident status boards and displays. 

• Apply techniques for maintaining situational awareness during incident operations. 

• Describe methods for producing projections and supporting modeling activities. 

• Identify audiences for situation briefings and deliver appropriate information products. 

• Interpret and integrate technical data into incident information systems.
  Describe internal and external information reporting responsibilities during incidents. 

Delivery format 

Activities may include instructor-led training supported by facilitated discussion, situational awareness exercises, display development activities, briefing simulations, and asynchronous learning components. 

Duration 

2 days (16 hours) 

Recommended prerequisite(s) 

Successful completion of ICS-300 

This Course may be Taught in Conjunction With 

• ICS-348 Resources Unit Leader (ICS 346/346) 

• ICS 347 Demob Unit Leader/348 RESL (ICS346/347/348) 

• ICS-248 Status/Check-in Recorder (ICS 248/346) 

• ICS-245 Display Processor (ICS-245/346) 

• ICS-245 and ICS-248 (ICS-245/248/346) 

Comparable courses  

FEMA E/L0964
NWCG S-346
USCG ICS-346 

Next Steps  

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