There is an old saying: "You can't tell the players without a scorecard." In any game, each player has a specific role as part of a team, with the overall goal of winning the game. The same is true for disaster response. There are many potential players at all levels—federal, state, and local. They must all cooperate and coordinate their efforts as a united team in order to effectively respond to disasters and hazards. The primary rule of the game—and therefore, the measure of effective disaster response—is adherence to the standardized Incident Command System (ICS) as prescribed in the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Success can be achieved outside the ICS model, but the ICS enhances the likelihood of an efficient, effective response, while reducing chaos and confusion among the players.