Why use Clear Text in an incident?

The “us and them” mentality of the Public Safety community has been in existence forever, or so it seems.

The use of abbreviations, 10 Codes and other terms and jargon came into being as a sort of verbal shorthand for personnel to communicate over the radios.  Departments nationwide had 9-Codes, 10-Codes, 11-Codes, Q-Codes, numerical status codes, etc.

Once radio scanners became popular with the consuming public in the 1980s, our fascination with the radio jargon took off. Suddenly, Public Safety personnel who used to speak the equivalent of a foreign language found themselves surrounded by nerds and gadget-geeks who were as eager to learn what these codes and phrases meant as the archaeologists who discovered the Rosetta Stone were.

And then along came the Incident Command System (ICS), and suddenly Public Service agencies were tossed together in the giant bowl that became known as Incident Management.  They had to talk to each other! And even worse, they had to talk to outsiders! Those VOADs that had always been seated at the kid’s table during meetings.

They had to communicate! But, my codes don’t mean the same as their codes do!  What to do!

Behold, the wonder of Common Terminology and Clear Text! 

The ability to communicate within the Incident Command System structure is absolutely critical. During an incident:

• Communications should use common terms or clear text.


• Do not use radio codes, agency-specific codes, acronyms, or jargon.

The goal is to promote understanding among all parties involved in managing an incident.

What a novel concept.  Once you think about it, it makes perfect sense. But…

Why Plain English?

The following meanings of a common acronym illustrate the importance of using clear text.

EMT = Emergency Medical Treatment
EMT = Emergency Medical Technician
EMT = Emergency Management Team
EMT = Eastern Mediterranean Time (GMT+0200)
EMT = Effective Methods Team
EMT = Effects Management Tool
EMT = El Monte, CA (airport code)
EMT = Electron Microscope Tomography
EMT = Email Money Transfer

Get the point?

This is still anathema to some agencies. These are usually the same agencies who went to scrambled, encrypted radio operations as soon as the general public started listening in on radio scanners. Because, you wouldn’t want the crooks to know where the good guys were having coffee, right?

Through retirement and death, hard-held beliefs are changing, and the secretive little core of “tell them nothing” leadership is disappearing.

Plain english on a Police Radio?  Wow.  Does that mean there might be hope for the CB radio crowd? 10-4 good buddy.

Conflict Resolution, or Ham Radio vs Social Media

I am reposting blog entries to my new blog account from the old one.

During a recent Twitter exchange with a Emergency Manager in Oklahoma, who is also an active Ham and a major proponent of SMEM, I asked him if he was worried about a backlash from the ham community regarding the ongoing integration of Social Media into Emergency Management and Response.

He answered “No”, and asked me why I might think that way.  Here was my response: 

"Hams have had the corner on damage assessment for a long time, with ATV and such. Now the "kids" come along with their Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, etc, and can send back high def images of the area in 1/10th the time that Hams can. You ask why hams would have a conflict? Why does a small town have 2-3 separate radio clubs? Why are online ham forums filled with "spirited debate?" Pettiness, pride, no longer being the "only one who can help," etc.

"The ARRL promotes "When All Else Fails," but a lot of hams out there think that they should be the ONLY "else."

"Now, once the cell grid overloads, or goes down, then 2-way radio comes into it’s own, but until that point, there will always be the potential for friction.

"The trick is for the ham to master social media so that they can indeed "do it all" in the field, and leave the ego/pride/attitudes at home."

For this blog post, I have elaborated on what I mean with the following information.

Ham Radio has always been on the cutting edge of technology. But now, with cellular 4G speeds and wi-fi hotspots, we run the risk of being relegated to “second string” in emergency response circles.

Your average smart phone owner can snap a high definition picture of a scene, or damaged house, upload it to a number of different photo sharing sites online, post it to Facebook and have it show up on the EOC’s Facebook page before you could pick up your radio, give your call sign and your current location.  In addition, most of the pictures are GPS tagged with the location of the photo, so they automatically show where on the map the damage is located.

How do we stay current and relevant?  When disaster comes calling, and he takes out the cell phone systems, and the grid goes down, Amateur Radio will always be there.

But what about in the minutes/hours/days before everything “goes south,” if it ever does? How many disasters are there that occur, where the communications systems stay in place and our “last resort communications” are not needed?

Become Social Media Savvy! Learn how to use your smart phone. You don’t have one? Turn in your brick phone and join the 21st Century.

If you are part of an ARES group, or a RACES group, or SkyWarn, or whatever, learn if your served agencies are using Social Media, and interact with them! For example, some NWS locations are now taking storm spotter reports via Twitter! The American Red Cross has a major Social Media presence.

When you’re the only contact they have with a site, because of your radio gear, you are a default “Trusted Resource”. They have to believe, and act on, what you relay to them from the field.  You need to become that Trusted Resource on social media, too.

They should have the confidence to look at what you send in and think, “Oh, that’s (your name). He/She always sends us reliable information.” Or if not you, personally, then your radio group.

Too many times I have heard hams say “I only do radio.” Why not be the guy who also does YouTube video from the scene? Or, if you have good signal strength, maybe Skype Video, or one of the Instant Message video services?  Just like Fast Scan (Amateur) TV allows front-line hams to send back video to the EOC, cellular technology allows you to do the same, but with higher resolution and faster transfer speeds.

“In these really big disasters, the initial response is generally not government. It’s individuals helping each other, trying to find out what’s going on. … we kind of have this barrier, because the public isn’t official. It’s not an official source of information… But we’ve seen now in the U.S., from wildfires in California and Boulder to the recent ice storm and snowstorms…the public is putting out better situation awareness than many of our own agencies can with our official datasets.”

Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator

More and more, Emergency Managers are using social media not only to deliver prevention and mitigation messages, but also use these platforms to engage the public in a dialogue and encourage feedback on efforts to keep the public safe and secure.

By becoming active in Social Media, you are just adding to your disaster response skill set.

When all else fails, Amateur Radio will stand in the breach. But, don’t you want to do your part in advance of that? Make yourself as relevant in the small situations as you are in the big ones.

Goodbye ECRV

Today, the ARRL put out a news release stating that the American Red Cross was phasing out their Emergency Communications Response Vehicles.

The American Red Cross has made the decision to phase out and decommission its Emergency Communication Response Vehicles (ECRVs), due to changes in technology, as well as a new satellite system and other factors regarding the vehicle fleet. “Retrofitting the decade-old vehicles with new equipment is not a good use of donated funds, as the long-term strategy is to move to more portable systems,” American Red Cross Disaster Services Technology Manager Keith Robertory, KG4UIR, told the ARRL. “This is consistent with the trends in the telecom and technology industries.”

I worked at NHQ when the concept was first being refined, and I was responsible for all of the vehicle graphics on the prototype.

The ECRVs have served well, and it will be interesting to see what takes their place in the near future.  According to Mr Robertory, “every communication capability of the ECRV already exists — or will soon exist — as a rapidly deployable kit that can be loaded on any vehicle that is owned or rented by the American Red Cross, providing more flexibility in shaping its response to match the disaster.”

And what about the radios and equipment installed in the trucks?  Well, the Red Cross will remove the Amateur Radios from the ECRVs and either roll them into deployable inventory, or provide them to the local chapter to help build local capacity.

“From a radio perspective, the American Red Cross has a variety of different kits for amateur, business and public safety bands covering HF, VHF and UHF with portable radios, mobile units and base stations,” he explained. “Two-way radio remains a valuable tool, providing communications in the initial days or weeks of a disaster, until normal communications is restored. Each American Red Cross chapter should continue with — and improve — the relationship with their local Amateur Radio operators. In a disaster, Amateur Radio will be the fastest deployed radio network because operators already live in the impacted communities.”

Hams who were responsible for staffing the vehicles, and who are now concerned about how this change will affect their ability to serve the Chapter can be assured that opportunities will exist for their expertise. can move into other volunteer rolls within their chapters, 

“This should not be seen as a setback for those radio amateurs who are working with the American Red Cross,” said ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. “In disaster response, adaptability is critical and keeping up with new technology is essential. This all must be done with a mind toward an effective and efficient response. Amateurs have played an important role in assisting the American Red Cross with their mission and I know we will continue to do so in the future.”

The entire news release can be read here.

A change of scenery

I had to change my blog address, in order to better control access to the account.

All previous blog entries are now located here:

n7fandave.tumblr.com

[gallery]

Those folks over at the Arizona Department of Transportation. They really know their stuff. All of the way up from Phoenix, on I-17, there were message boards displaying warnings about “Winter Driving Conditions” ahead.  Most of the way to Flagstaff the roads were clear and mostly dry.

And then you top out on the Mogollon Rim and run into this!

Next time, I’m staying in Phoenix.

Those folks over at the Arizona Department of Transportation. They really know their stuff. All of the way up from Phoenix, on I-17, there were message boards displaying warnings about “Winter Driving Conditions" ahead.  Most of the way to Flagstaff the roads were clear and mostly dry.

And then you top out on the Mogollon Rim and run into this!

Next time, I’m staying in Phoenix.

Just starting out with tumblr. Still don't know if others can ask or reply to my messages. Have to learn and get info. From other users... 73's

If you edit your tumblr theme, you should be able to add links and other information.  Check out disqus.com. You can set up an account there, follow their simple instructions and plug in the info in your Theme. That way your comments section will work.

Also, add some info about yourself to your account/theme. That people know a little about the blogger and can better judge the content.

David

[gallery]

A scene from New London, CT at 6:35pm this evening.

If you’re interested in watching Social Media in action, here are some Twitter hashtags that I’ve seen come across within the past hour.  The list will shrink some as more people start using the same tags.

#blizzard
#noreaster
#nemo
#blizzard2013
#MAwx
#RIwx
#CTwx

A standard hashtag for weather related reporting is the “#STwx” tag, with the ST replaced by the two letter ID for the state.

If you are interested in #SMEM, start monitoring some of these hashtags and run scenarios in your mind about how you would reply and respond to what you are seeing.

Any event that is not directly affecting you, or your area, is an opportunity for training and practice.

[gallery]

All humor aside, New England is in the cross-hairs of a major storm today.

Social Media is hopping with updates and statuses:

#MA Storm:I-90 speed reduced to 40mph, Exits 1 to 6.

— Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) February 8, 2013

Snow has started, #blizzard warning in effect for all #Connecticut – DOT warns people stay of roads. State of Emergency declared, #NEMO

— Pushita Loffreda,EMP (@PKLoffreda) February 8, 2013

In the initial onset of this storm, Amateur Radio may not be needed, but Social Media will be buzzing with information, updates, damage assessment information, and status updates.

For the radio amateur, this is a wonderful opportunity to watch Twitter and see how Social Media works in a disaster such as this. I’m already seeing notifications of shelter locations.

#Winter storms & #blizzards can knock out power. Make sure you have a plan for staying warm if power goes out ready.gov/blackouts

— femaregion5 (@femaregion5) February 8, 2013

This one is a bit on the late side, but FEMA tends to tweet out the same basic messages quite often, in a rotation, so this will have been tweeted out not to long ago, too.

There are several people on Twitter who retweet almost every relevant item that they find. You can follow a couple of these people, and then filter out what you see by further following the users that tweet out what you like to read.

I follow @GetMeOutNews on Twitter. She retweets a bunch of info, all day long.  A lot of it doesn’t pertain to me, but some of it does.  I look at the original senders that she is forwarding from, and sometimes follow them directly for faster updates.

Huh? “Follow,” “tweet,” “retweet?” This week I’ll post a primer on Social Media for Ham Radio operators.  It’s nowhere near as hard to learn as the Q signals and ARL RadioGram numbers.

73 & stay warm,  David

Why Don't They Call?

EMC053 - ACCEPTANCE TAKES TIME

Originally published, 11 Nov, 1996

It takes time to accomplish the approaches described in our bulletins and papers. Much of it is, of necessity, confined to those unpaid professionals who work in government agencies. I am not addressing volunteers who serve non-governmental agencies on an infrequent basis. The ARES mission of health and welfare traffic, for instance, does take a lot of people who serve VERY infrequently. They are separate and distinct from the type of unpaid employee who works in government, especially in an on-going capacity, albeit unpaid. Note that I studiously avoid the word “volunteer” because the majority of urban governments simply don’t like volunteers. That’s because they may never have had the pleasure of working with the type I am talking about.

Appearance is invariably the first step. I know it sounds trite (and even inflammatory to some) but it is a fact of life; most officials are too tactful to say it —- so I will:

If you don’t look like us, if you don’t talk like us, if you you don’t act like us, and if you don’t perform like us —- you are not one of us. Thou shalt not pass.”

To this a potential volunteer may reply, “Fine. You want me to be or do that? Pay me!” Our reply is, in essence, “I understand your feeling. However, our people don’t do that because they HAVE to — but because they WANT to.” This puts the shoe back on their foot to back out gracefully.

Some may call this a hard line approach. We call it a real world, practical approach. Once you let your employees (paid and volunteer) know what is the mission and standards of performance, service, appearance, behavior, etc., they know exactly where they stand and what is expected. This should be carefully crafted and stated right up front before anyone is hired or signed on. It saves a lot of grief down the line. I have seen all too often government managers report that their volunteer program(s) failed. In analyzing the reasons, the most common is their reluctance to state up front and in writing what are the expectations of the government (or business, etc.).

Convergent Volunteers

EMC035 – Convergent Volunteers

Originally published: July 8, 1996

Convergent volunteers are unsolicited volunteers who spontaneously offer help following an incident, emergency or disaster. They ask to be used when the need exists and expect to return home when their work is done. They may never show up again, or alternately, may come back in response to the next disaster. They do not expect to be paid.

How agencies utilize convergent volunteers will vary. Many turn them away enmass as they are not setup to handle them. Others may use then out of sheer necessity. Some may have a program set up.

To the volunteer it is difficult for them to understand why they may be turned away when they think that their skills can be of immediate use. For example, after an earthquake people with a backhoe or a crane may show up offering their services without charge to move fallen structures. When turned away they often get very upset as they seldom are told why.

There are several valid reasons.

1. 
   

   No program in place to handle them in the proper manner to protect both the volunteer and the agency.

   
   


2. 
   

   Legal constraints unique to an agency or jurisdiction such as states where there are specific response agencies stated in the law.

   
   


3. 
   

   Inability to handle the situation at the time.

   
   


4. 
   

   Lack of training in agency needs, protocol and such factors.

   
   

In communications, Amateur Radio operators who show up at an agency without having been requested (or authorized under an existing plan, such as ACS or RACES) are convergent volunteers. It is not infrequent that these “self dispatched” Amateurs have caused significant problems and caused agencies to discontinue the use of any volunteers. A better way is to become part of an pre-trained emergency communications unit, which provides for recognition and familiarity with agency protocol and its need.

Conflict Resolution, or Ham Radio vs Social Media

During a recent Twitter exchange with a Emergency Manager in Oklahoma, who is also an active Ham and a major proponent of SMEM, I asked him if he was worried about a backlash from the ham community regarding the ongoing integration of Social Media into Emergency Management and Response.

He answered “No”, and asked me why I might think that way.  Here is my response: 

“Hams have had the corner on damage assessment for a long time, with ATV and such. Now the “kids” come along with their Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, etc, and can send back high def images of the area in 1/10th the time that Hams can. You ask why hams would have a conflict? Why does a small town have 2-3 separate radio clubs? Why are online ham forums filled with “spirited debate?” Pettiness, pride, no longer being the “only one who can help,” etc.

“The ARRL promotes “When All Else Fails,” but a lot of hams out there think that they should be the ONLY “else.”

“Now, once the cell grid overloads, or goes down, then 2-way radio comes into it’s own, but until that point, there will always be the potential for friction.

“The trick is for the ham to master social media so that they can indeed “do it all” in the field, and leave the ego/pride/attitudes at home.”

Ham Radio has always been on the cutting edge of technology. But now, with cellular 4G speeds and wi-fi hotspots, we run the risk of being relegated to “second string” in emergency response circles.

Your average smart phone owner can snap a high definition picture of a scene, or damaged house, upload it to a number of different photo sharing sites online, post it to Facebook and have it show up on the EOC’s Facebook page before you could pick up your radio, give your call sign and your current location.  In addition, most of the pictures are GPS tagged with the location of the photo, so they automatically show where on the map the damage is located.

How do we stay current and relevant?  When disaster comes calling, and he takes out the cell phone systems, and the grid goes down, Amateur Radio will always be there.

But what about in the minutes/hours/days before everything “goes south?”

Become Social Media Savvy! Learn how to use your smart phone. You don’t have one? Turn in your bag phone and join the 21st Century.

If you are part of an ARES group, or a RACES group, or SkyWarn, or whatever, learn if your served agencies are using Social Media, and interact with them! For example, some NWS locations are now taking storm spotter reports via social media! The American Red Cross has a major Social Media presence.

When you’re the only contact they have with a site, because of your radio gear, you are a Trusted Resource. They have to believe, and act on, what you relay to them from the field.  You need to become that Trusted Resource on social media, too.

They should have the confidence to look at what you send in and think, “Oh, that’s (your name). He/She always sends us reliable information.” Or if not you, personally, then your radio group.

Too many times I have heard hams say “I only do radio.” Why not be the guy who also does YouTube video from the scene? Or, if you have good signal strength, maybe Skype Video, or one of the Instant Message video services?  Just like Fast Scan (Amateur) TV allowed front-line hams to send back video to the EOC, cellular technology allows you to do the same, but with higher resolution and faster transfer speeds.

“In these really big disasters, the initial response is generally not government. It’s individuals helping each other, trying to find out what’s going on. … we kind of have this barrier, because the public isn’t official. It’s not an official source of information… But we’ve seen now in the U.S., from wildfires in California and Boulder to the recent ice storm and snowstorms…the public is putting out better situation awareness than many of our own agencies can with our official datasets.”

Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator

More and more, Emergency Managers are using social media not only to deliver prevention and mitigation messages, but also use these platforms to engage the public in a dialogue and encourage feedback on efforts to keep the public safe and secure.

By becoming active in Social Media, you are just adding to your disaster response skill set.

When all else fails, Amateur Radio will stand in the breach. But, don’t you want to do your part in advance of that? Make yourself as relevant in the small situations as you are in the big ones.