[1] The main purpose of a hotwash session is to identify strengths and weaknesses of the response to a given event, which then leads to another governmental phase known as "lessons learned."
Hotwashes are intended to guide future responses in order to avoid repeating errors made in the past.
Hotwash is a term picked up in recent years by the Emergency Preparedness Community, likely as a result of Homeland Security and other government agencies' involvement in disaster planning.
One infantry soldier described it as "the quick and dirty cleaning that can save a lot of time later.
"It is also commonly used in the Coast Guard and other seagoing services to describe the use of a fine spray mist of water and lubricants to prevent corrosion in helicopter turbines operated in a heavily saltwater-saturated marine environment.