"By law and by Presidential directive, the Secretary of Homeland Security is the principal Federal official responsible for coordination of all domestic incidents requiring multi-agency Federal response. In a catastrophic or unusually complex incident, the Secretary may elect to designate a single individual to serve as his or her primary representative and as the lead Federal official in the field. Only the most complex incidents will likely call for appointment of a PFO. Acting on the Secretary's behalf, the PFO will coordinate the activities of other Federal officials, acting under their own authorities, to ensure consistency of Federal support as well as the overall effectiveness of the Federal incident management. When appointed, such an individual serves on-scene as the Principal Federal Official for the incident. "The PFO will interface with Federal, State, tribal and local jurisdictional officials regarding the overall Federal incident management strategy and act as the primary Federal spokesperson for coordinated media and public communications. The PFO will serve as a member of the Unified Coordination Group and provide a primary point of contact and situational awareness locally for the Secretary of Homeland Security. "A PFO is a senior Federal official with proven management experience and strong leadership capabilities. The PFO deploys with a small, highly-trained mobile support staff. Both the PFO and support staff undergo specific training prior to appointment to their respective positions. Once formally designated for an ongoing incident, a PFO relinquishes the conduct of all previous duties to focus exclusively on his or her incident management responsibilities. "This Framework stipulates that the same individual will not serve as the Principal Federal Official and the Federal Coordinating Officer... at the same time for the same incident. When both positions are assigned, circumstances will be such that each will have significant, complementary responsibilities to assist with response to a very demanding event. The Secretary is not restricted to DHS officials when selecting a PFO. "The PFO does not direct or replace the incident command structure established at the incident. Nor does the PFO have line authority over a Federal Coordinating Officer, a Senior Federal Law Enforcement Official, a DOD Joint Task Force Commander or any State or local official. Other Federal incident management officials retain their authorities as defined in existing statutes and directives. Rather, the PFO promotes cohesion and, as possible, resolves any Federal interagency conflict that may arise. The PFO identifies and presents to the Secretary of Homeland Security any policy issues arising from the particular circumstances that need resolution at a higher level within the Federal Government". (DHS, NRF Comment Draft, September 2007, pp. 63-64)