Who is responsible for determining the strategic incident objectives?

• A. Command staff
• B. Planning officer
• C. Operations section chief
• D. Incident Commander

Answer: (D)

In the incident command system, the person in charge sets the strategic incident objectives. This is the Incident Commander, who holds overall responsibility for the response, including defining priorities and the desired end state. They determine what the incident aims to achieve and guide the direction of the response through the Incident Action Plan. The Planning Section and Operations Section Chief implement and support those goals, translating them into plans and actions, but they do not establish the primary objectives themselves. If multiple agencies are involved under Unified Command, the group as a whole collaborates on objectives, but the leadership ultimately responsible for them remains with the incident leadership.