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OPEN CLASS CIV 100 · College V · DCV · Building 5 · on demand How it was built, why it doesn’t take over, and who runs it.
🏛 Origins of the NET CIV 100
how it was built · why it doesn't take over · who runs it
Free Online On demand Open enrollment · no prerequisites Teacher available

Origins of the NET

The whole story of THE NET, in one open class: what it is, why it was designed the way it was, and how it coordinates a country without ever taking it over. Watch the modules in any order, at your own pace. Stuck on something? The teacher answers by chat and email — this isn’t a wall of videos you watch alone.

Anyone can take it — students, staff, or someone in town who just wants to understand how the thing works. No grade, no clock, no cost.

What you’ll learn

Five modules · watch in any order
1 What THE NET actually iscoordination without control ▶ watch ›
▶ Module 1 video · on-demand · ~12 min
THE NET (The Network Empowering Tomorrow) isn’t a government and isn’t a company — it’s a coordination layer that sits in the gap between local emergency management and federal response. It started in Tennessee, with a civil engineer who noticed that the same patterns that optimize a youth-baseball schedule also optimize disaster response. The core idea: coordinate without controlling. Help people and systems talk to each other; never take away their authority to decide.
2 The five regional commandsthe backbone & the FVC ▶ watch ›
▶ Module 2 video · on-demand · ~15 min
THE NET consolidates FEMA’s ten regions into five regional commands, each with a commander and a hub city. Above them sits the Freedom Values Command (FVC) in Washington — which coordinates only, and never directs regional operations. The full roster is below.
3 Parallel, not overfederalism & the 48-hour rule ▶ watch ›
▶ Module 3 video · on-demand · ~14 min
The most important design choice: the NET runs parallel to government, not over it. Driver’s licenses, police powers, schools — all stay with the states. A region has full authority for the first 48 hours of any crisis; the FVC only steps in when a disaster crosses regional lines. It’s built on the 10th Amendment: voluntary cooperation, exit any time, state sovereignty preserved. Washington coordinates, regions execute, states decide, citizens benefit.
4 The Grid & multi-radar weatherhow the data moves ▶ watch ›
▶ Module 4 video · on-demand · ~11 min
Instead of trusting one weather source, the NET aggregates all of them — NOAA, TV station radars, private services, buoys, even backyard stations. The payoff is real: tornado warnings with 45 minutes of lead time instead of 13. That early signal is what lets a region pre-position help before the disaster confirms itself.
5 Case study: the Memphis Triple Disasterthe system proving itself ▶ watch ›
▶ Module 5 video · on-demand · ~18 min
Everything in one event. Four early-warning signals converged — the weather ensemble, animal behavior, a hotline spike, and a quantum sock network going quiet — and the Central command pre-positioned convoys days before landfall. Commander Felicia Ortega ran it as Incident Commander. See how it landed at Community Support →

The five regional commands

Reference · the backbone they ride
The NET runs parallel to government, not over it — Washington coordinates, the regions execute, the states decide. Driver’s licenses and police powers stay with the states; the network just helps them talk. Five commands replace FEMA’s ten.
Region 1 · Northeast
Boston
Cmdr. Annabella Parker
Region 2 · Southeast
Atlanta
Cmdr. Victor Blankenkoff
Region 3 · Central
Kansas City
Cmdr. Felicia Ortega
Region 4 · Mountain West
Denver
Cmdr. Spencer Harb
Region 5 · Pacific
Seattle
Cmdr. Zach Calloway
Above the five · Washington DC

Freedom Values Command (FVC) — national coordination only, never command-and-control. Provides federal resources and connects regions to each other; the regions direct their own operations. Deputy to Central: Michelle Johnson.

Taking the class

It’s on demand — but you’re not alone in it
Ask the teacher

Watch at your own pace, then send questions any time. A DCV civics instructor answers by chat and email — usually within a day. No question is too basic; that’s the whole point of an open class.

✉️ Email a question College V chat →
Currently enrolled

Open enrollment — anyone can join, no grade, no clock. One of the students in it right now:

MT
Mara A. TsosieCollege IX · TOS Dept · taking it as an open elective