Mission Ready Packages

A Mission Ready Package or MRP is everything you need to conduct a mission (personnel, equipment, commodities, travel, lodging, meals and more) identified in a single file with their associated costs.

A good MRP significantly reduces the time from request to deployment, better prepares you for the reimbursement process, and can be leveraged across all EMAC applications.
No delays when critical resources are needed thanks to Mission Ready Packages! 

What Are Mission Ready Packages?

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The Value of Mission Ready Packages

What used to take days now takes minutes

When mutual aid resources are needed, time is of the essence.

The jurisdiction requesting assistance needs to know if you can help, where you are, and how much it will cost. 

Information has to be fast, organized and efficient or the entire mutual aid process will be slowed down resulting in delays getting resources deployed.* 

Mission Ready Packages or MRPs accelerate the mutual aid process by clearly identifying all of the elements needed to conduct a mission outside the home jurisdiction for a set period of time (usually 2 weeks) and the associated costs.

 
Resource Providers (agencies who have resources that can deploy on a mission) who develop MRPs are able to pre-identify eligible and ineligible costs which in turn makes the reimbursement process go more smoothly.

*EMAC has a 30 day provision where resources can be deployed prior to the completion of mission paperwork. While it accelerates mutual aid for life saving missions, having an MRP can save time and get the paperwork completed upfront.
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State Emergency Management Agencies and Resource Providers

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are able to quickly utilize a Mission Ready Package (MRP)
across all of EMAC's applications and offers of assistance can be made within minutes.

Getting Started with
Building Your Mission Ready Package

The easiest way to build your Mission Ready Package is through the Mutual Aid Support System or MASS.

The Mutual Aid Support System (MASS)

MASS, or the Mutual Aid Support System is a free GIS based inventory of Mission Ready Packages. 

Resource Providers can develop and maintain their MRP in MASS and the State EMAC Coordinator can use the MRP across all of EMAC's applications from the EMAC Operations System to Resource Planner.
If you don't want to start in MASS, you can download and use one the Excel templates to get started and then upload it into MASS with the click of a button! Either way you want your MRP in MASS so it is part of the national inventory and can be leveraged across all EMAC's applications - from pre-event planning to reimbursement!

What is in a Mission Ready Package?

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Mission Ready Packages contain details about the resource and a breakdown of the personnel, equipment, travel (lodging, meals, etc.), commodities and other items along with their associated costs - everything you need to conduct our mission compiled in a single package. 

Once you have documented everything, you should exercise it to identify anything that was missing and continually improve your MRP to be operational ready. 

Learn more about each by selecting them from below.
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MRP Details

Contact information, NIMS Resource Type, Job Position / Qualification, equipment requirements, deployment timeline and more...

Travel

Includes meals, airfare, mileage, rental vehicle, lodging, parking fees, and more

Personnel

Job title, regular salary and fringe benefit rates, overtime salary and fringe benefit rates, the estimated number of hours and mission days

Equipment

Equipment by quantity or by rate and number of days used

Commodities

Items that are consumed during the mission entered by quantity and cost

Other

Costs not included elsewhere in the MRP such as the shipment of good or uniform laundry fees, etc.

Total Cost Estimate

Total cost estimates per category and the number of personnel assigned to the mission

Federal Funding

You can indicate if you received federal funding to maintain the resource
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MRP Details

Details for the MRP include the following:
  • Resource Information & Location
  • Resource Point of Contact
  • Classification, Discipline & Core Capability
  • NIMS Resource Typing
  • Job Positions Qualifications
  • Equipment Requirements
  • Equipment Maintenance & Rehabilitation Requirements
  • Transportation Requirements
  • Space & Size for the Resource
  • Limiting Factors to the Mission
  • Logistical Support Needed
  • Deployment Timeline
  • Personnel by Type
  • Certifications / Licenses for Personnel
  • Requirements for the Rotation of Personnel
  • Emergency Support Functions Supported
The Relationship between NIMS Resource Typing & MRPs

NIMS Resource Typing and Job Positions Qualifications are integrated into the Mission Ready Package (MRP) through the FEMA maintained RTLT. Both are important parts of the MRP as they help to clearly identify the resource's capabilities.

Watch this short video to learn more about the RTLT and why resources should be described using clear and consistent language.  

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Travel

Meals

The mission order should reflect if meal expenses will be calculated at per diem or calculated cost. As with lodging, any meals provided by or directly provided by or billed directly to the requesting state are not eligible for reimbursement.

Supported documentation for lodging includes a copy of agency or state policy showing per diem rates, a copy of GSA meal rates for the area of deployment, or actual meal receipts

Air Travel

You can make travel cost-related decisions up front, such as whether to use per diem rates or require actual receipts for all meals and lodging during a mission. You should locate your jurisdictional policies so any estimates you provide would be consistent with policies that will need to provide with your reimbursement package. Doing this upfront will save time when seeking reimbursement.

Eligible costs within this category include airfare at the standard rate and baggage fees. Supported documentation can include receipts for baggage fees, boarding passes, and receipts from the airline or travel agent including the name of the traveler, dates and cost.

Ground Transportation

Eligible costs for ground transportation reimbursement include rental vehicles & fuels, taxi or shuttle fees, parking fees, highway and bridge tolls. Fuel or agency, state, or GSA rates for government owned-vehicles or the use of a personally owned vehicle also apply.

Supported documentation for ground transportation includes rental vehicle and contract fuel receipts, taxi and shuttle fair receipts, parking receipts, vehicle log and fuel receipts for government owned-vehicles, and maps showing mileage from
starting point to destination.

Lodging

If lodging is provided by or direct billed to the requesting state, or if lodging is not available and personnel are self-sufficient in primitive conditions, or are in a base camp at no cost, those expenses are not eligible for reimbursement. Eligible costs within this category include: per diem using GSA rates or actual costs for lodging.

Supported documentation for lodging includes a copy of agency or state policy showing lodging rates, a copy of GSA lodging rates for the area of deployment, original lodging receipts showing zero balance.

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Personnel

Each individual on the mission would have their name, salary rates, fringe benefit rates, hours to be worked for regular and overtime, and the total estimated number of mission days. Again, you should be able to estimate the number of mission days your resource can be deployed and use that number here.

 

If you are unsure of the names of the personnel who will deploy, you can enter the job titles and update the job titles with names once the state emergency management agency has requested your Mission Ready Package. It is important to supply the names, phone number, and email address so they can be reached during the mission and immediately after for after action follow-up.

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Equipment

In general, equipment must not be purchased for or during the conduct of a mission.
If equipment must be purchased, a discussion should first take place between the resource provider and the assisting and requesting state emergency management agencies. If the resource provider chooses to be reimbursed for the agreed upon price of the equipment, the equipment becomes the property of and remains in the requesting state.

Eligible costs for equipment include maintenance and operating costs for vehicles and machinery required to perform the mission, Agency, state, or FEMA hourly equipment rate schedule and loss or damages occurring to equipment.

Supported documentation includes log sheets showing dates and hours equipment was in use, documentation substantiating fuel and oil consumption, a copy of FEMA equipment rates for each type of equipment used, photographs, affidavits, or police reports documenting damage or loss.

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Commodities

Eligible costs within this category include consumables, supplies, and other materials that are used during the conduct of the mission. Expendable resources such as office supplies, ice, snacks, fuel, and other one-time-use items and should be charged based on their cost per item and quantity of items purchased.

Supported documentation for reimbursement includes actual receipts for purchases and records substantiating their need.

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Other

Eligible costs within this category include reasonable repair or replacement costs of equipment, costs for the decontamination or cleaning of equipment during employment, costs of purchasing and transporting supplies, as well as maintenance and repair expenses necessary to return equipment to pre-disaster conditions. Eligible costs may also include any items that do not belong in any other category, such as cell phone charges, laundry expenditures, and vaccination costs. Such “other” expenses may be estimated based on quantity or by a rate.

Supported documents for reimbursement include invoices or receipts, other documentation substantiating the expense, proof of insurance or non-insurance, photographs, affidavits, or police reports documenting damage or loss.

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Total Cost Estimates

Identifies the cost totals from each category and the number of personnel assigned to the mission.
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Federal Funding

You can select federal funding sources utilized to build or maintain your resource.

Want to Start With An MRP Excel Template?

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Download a Blank Excel Template to Build Your MRP
If you are more comfortable starting with one of our blank Excel Mission Ready Package templates, you can download one and get started! 

The templates were developed in 2011. They are compatible with MASS; but as you would expect, do not have direct links to the FEMA Resource Typing Library Tool (RTLT). 

Be sure to upload your MRP into MASS when you are done so it can be part of the national MRP inventory.