Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide

Have you seen this?  The Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide?

"The Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide (AUXFOG) is a reference for auxiliary communicators who directly support backup emergency communications for State/local public safety entities or for an amateur radio organization supporting public safety.

"This reference guide contains information about AuxComm best practices, frequently used radio frequencies, Mutual Aid channels as well as tips and suggestions about auxiliary emergency communicators integrating into a NIMS ICS environment to support communications for planned events or incidents. It can serve as a reference both for auxiliary emergency communicators and public safety communications professionals."

Auxiliary Communications Field Operations Guide

What in the world?

That’s interesting. All of the sudden my blog posts are auto-posting to my Google Plus page…the wrong page!

Now I need to track down what went wrong, and where.

Update - Problem solved. An errant filter in HootSuite.

Done and done

On Thursday morning we withdrew Isaiah from public school. Later that morning he started his assessment testing for the new charter school. He finished the testing on Friday.

Based upon the assessment results, his teachers will develop an Individual Learning Plan that is best suited to his needs.  It will be up to us (his parents) and his teachers to help him stick with the course plan.

He is now enjoying his Christmas break, and will start full-time with AZVA in January.

ARES and CERT

One of the groups I belong to on LinkedIn.com has just finished up a long discussion on Community Emergency Response Teams and Amateur Radio Emergency Service.

I’m not sure if any agreement was reached, but the pontificating was fierce on both sides of the discussion.

And now, to toss some fuel onto the embers of the fire, the ARRL released their weekly newsletter, and advocated for ARES members to get involved in CERT!

New Year’s Resolution: Become a CERT Leader

Ducks vs...

Unless you live in a cave, you are probably aware of the kerfuffle surrounding Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, and his comments in a recent article of GQ Magazine.

The A&E Network promptly suspended Mr Robertson, indefinitely.

Late yesterday evening, the Robertson Family released the following statement:

We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since hearing of A&E’s decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs on what is sin are biblical. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments “Love God and love your neighbor,” and any implication that Phil would incite or encourage hate is entirely false. We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his personal and constitutionally protected beliefs. We have enjoyed a good relationship with A&E up until this point but as a family cannot imagine the show going forward without the patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family.

This is not a First Amendment issue, actually. Your Constitutionally guaranteed Rights can only be infringed upon by a Government entity. No private individual, or organization, has the ability to take your Rights away. This is a business decision by A&E Network. 

However, I have seen, in several places, that people are justifying A&E’s decision as being “in the best interests of their viewers”. Unfortunately, without Duck Dynasty, A&E would only have 1/3 of the viewers they currently have.

Phil Robertson was within his rights to answer the question the way he did. A&E is within their rights to suspend him because of the fallout from the answer, and I am within my rights to boycott the A&E brand, and any companies that advertise on A&E, if that is my desire.

The reporter at GQ Magazine asked Mr Robertson (who makes no secret that he is an outspokenly devout Christian) for some examples of what sin is. Why are people acting shocked by the answer he gave? Apparently those who are “shocked” have never watched any part of a episode of Duck Dynasty.

The Robertson family does not need the A&E Network. Television did not “make them,” and television won’t “break them.” They can walk away and go back to living their lives.

It is the devoted fans of Duck Dynasty who will lose out. The Robertson saga has touched something deep within Americans in Fly-Over country that no other television show currently in production has been able to reach. We see these people as human, with the same senses of humor, dignity, faith and honor that most of us have. No longer will we be able to look at the crazy relative at the holiday table and console ourselves with, “at least he’s not as bad as Uncle Si.” Duck Dynasty connects with viewers on a different level than any other reality TV show I’ve ever seen. You actually care about the characters, and you relate to them.

The Robertson’s statement says that, without Phil, there will be no “Duck Dynasty.” If this happens, A&E will find some other program to fill the time slot. Maybe they can come up with a “Rodeo Shipping Storage Girls” show or something. The Robertson’s will go back to being Happy, Happy, Happy private citizens, with a bunch of new stories to tell the grandkids and great-grandkids.

Most reality TV is about watching the train wreck happen, every episode. Duck Dynasty is about Faith, Family and Facial Hair. There is no sex, no profanity, and religious and family values are exalted.

What a refreshing island of sanity in the sea of TV shows that glorify sex, drugs, violence, criminal activity, socioeconomic stereotypes and family breakdown.

One Step Closer

We are all signed up and ready to go. My son starts on Jan 6th, at the beginning of the Spring semester.

One Step Closer

Timeline - December 8, 1941, 13:10

The US House of Representatives passes the resolution declaring war upon Japan, with a total vote count of 388 to 1. The single dissenting vote is cast by Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, who also voted against a declaration of war in 1917.

Timeline - December 8, 1941, 13:00

The United States Senate unanimously adopts a resolution declaring war on Japan. 

Timeline - December 8, 1941, 12:29

The President, still on his son’s arm, enters the Chamber of the House, is introduced briefly by Speaker Sam Rayburn, and receives a thunderous ovation. For the past nine years, Republicans have shown little enthusiasm toward the President when he has addressed a Joint Session of Congress. This time, the Republicans join in, signifying the nation’s sudden unity.

Solemnly, he begins his speech: 

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.

Timeline - December 8, 1941, 12:20

A heavily guarded black limousine pulls up to the south entrance of the U.S. Capitol.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gets out of the car and enters the Capitol, assisted by his son Captain James Roosevelt, who wears the uniform of the U.S. Marines.

The chamber of the House of Representatives is jammed with members of both houses of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, official guests, and onlookers in the galleries.

Timeline - December 7, 1941, Evening Hours

Because the US Military immediately seized all communication lines from Hawaii, news of the attack on Pearl Harbor was released from the White House. Sunday afternoon shows on the Mainland were interrupted by the breaking news. (Following courtesy of AP)

FLASH

WASHINGTON — White House says Japs attack Pearl Harbor.

BULLETIN

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (AP) — President Roosevelt said in a statement today that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from the air.

The attack of the Japanese also was made on all naval and military “activities” on the island of Oahu.

The president’s brief statement was read to reporters by Stephen Early, presidential secretary. No further details were given immediately.

At the time of the White House announcement, the Japanese ambassadors, Kichisaburo Nomura and Saburo Kurusu, were at the State Department.

___

FLASH

WASHINGTON — Second air attack reported on Army and Navy bases in Manila.

#

First lead Japanese

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 — (AP) — Japanese air attacks on the American naval stronghold at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and on defense facilities at Manila were announced today by the White House.

-2-

Only this terse announcement came from President Roosevelt immediately, but with it there could be no doubt that the Far Eastern situation had at last exploded, that the United States was at war, and that the conflict which began in Europe was spreading over the entire world.
This disclosure had been accepted generally as an indication this country had all but given up hope that American-Japanese difficulties, arising from Japan’s aggression in the Far East, could be resolved by ordinary diplomatic procedure.

#

BULLETIN

Second lead Japanese

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 — (AP) — Japanese airplanes today attacked American defense bases at Hawaii and Manila, and President Roosevelt ordered the Army and Navy to carry out undisclosed orders prepared for the defense of the United States.

Announcing the president’s action for the protection of American territory, Presidential Secretary Stephen Early declared that so far as is known now the attacks were made wholly without warning — when both nations were at peace — and were delivered within an hour or so of the time that the Japanese ambassador had gone to the State Department to hand to the secretary of state Japan’s reply to the secretary’s memo of the 26th.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin was the first newspaper to report the attack on Pearl Harbor. They published several Extra Editions throughout the day. By the morning of Dec 8, every newspaper in the country was carrying some version of the story.

It's Official

Isaiah is now enrolled in a Online Virtual Charter School.  It’s not home-schooling.  It’s Home Based learning.

What’s the difference?  The difference is that we don’t have to come up with lesson plans and put together learning opportunities with minimal outside support.  He will have teachers, school books, classes, assignments, homework, and parents who act as “Learning Coaches” to make sure he has the support and help he needs.

It’s going to be a learning curve for all of us, but we’re looking forward to it.  He starts right after the Christmas break.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor - A Historical Guide

Interesting study ideas from the blog of Isaiah’s new school.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor - A Historical Guide

Time For A Change

For 3 months now, I’ve been watching my youngest son lose interest in school. It’s been a very painful process for me.  This year he is in a specialized program, 20+1, that is supposed to be the greatest thing for students who don’t do well in classroom settings.  The program is designed to be self-paced to a point.

Well, he says that he likes the work, but his grades are slipping. He has problems with a couple of the teachers, and I think he’s given up on even trying.

Over the Christmas break, we’re pulling him from public school and enrolling him in a online, home-based charter school. His mom will be home with him, so she can work with him to keep him focused and on track.  He is excited about giving it a try.

We’ll see how it goes.

Hon Machi Lunch Time!

Lunch time

Baby Leo

Yessika and Baby Leo. I think he’ll be stuck with that nickname for life.

Training Standards

Query: “Are there any training standards for communications units that serve government?”

Response by Stan Harter, based on 45 years experience with volunteer communications units in support of government:

As to standards of training, I know of none. Each agency creates (or fails to create) their own. Since every government does everything different, there are very few “basics” when it comes to communication training, except for these:

1. The proper radio calling procedure.


2. Use plain English; no codes, no ham codes, no 10-codes, etc.


3. Maximize tactical calls, minimize ham radio calls.

The standards of deportment, appearance, behavior, performance, minimum required training, etc. are generally policies estab- lished by the local government. If not, they should be; and if it’s worth doing right it’s worth writing it down.

There are, however, related standards to learn, such as:

1. The unwritten protocol and nuances of an agency. Since these are unwritten these are part of what the unit officers learn by working IN the agency in some on-going capacity.


2. Applicable local or state laws, such as in California where the Standardized Emergency Management System takes effect 12/1/96. This involves five basics: ICS, Mutual Aid, MACS, OA and OASIS. See RACES Bulletin 418 dated 2/19/96.


3. Thorough working understanding of the Incident Command System (ICS) and how it is used by your government. See RACES Bulletin 416 issued 2/5/96. Also see also EMCOM Bulletins 001-020.


4. How the communications Mutual Aid system works in your area. Who is authorized to activate or call out the unit and under what circumstances. See RACES bulletin 414 dated 1/22/96.


5. The mission statement of the local communications unit.


6. California jurisdictions see RACES Bulletin 413 on the Operational Area (OA), issued 1/15/96 and 417 on OASIS, issued 2/12/96.

Originally published by CA State ACS office, Nov 4, 1996, as EMC Bulletin 052

Don't listen to him, he's not "an #SMEM expert!"

What does it take to be an expert in something?

Experts w/ <10k followers sometimes less than a 100, <1000 likes on FB and no #SMEM history not a “Pro or “Expert” your’e “Fraud” #SMEMChat.

— CAL FIRE NEWS (@CalFireNews)

November 2, 2013

Is this a valid criticism?

Has SMEM become a marketing tool?  Too many people slap a #smem hashtag on stuff that really doesn’t belong.

What is SMEM? What should it be?

My thoughts are that SMEM should be used on messages that are directed to the target public.

Maybe use SM4EM for inter-office communications, or subject matter that doesn’t need to be directed to the general public.

Right now there is no standard hashtag being pushed for John Q Public to follow for information and updates.

What are the desirable traits for a Volunteer?

   A management workshop, based on Harvard business school techniques, divided 110 people into eleven groups of ten people each. The groups were asked to list all of the attributes that came to mind. After a period of time they were told to stop writing lists and vote on their top eight. Then all eleven groups combined their results into the following top eight attributes:

1. Reliability.


2. Participation.


3. Being a team player.


4. Dedication and commitment.


5. Ability to cooperate.


6. Acceptance of responsibility.


7. Support; speaks well of his/her organization before others.


8. A success in his/her vocation.

   Those are the top eight that beat out all others. What others might you add? This can be a good discussion at any organizational meeting.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

More than one professional in the field of Search and Rescue or Emergency Response Management has been known to say that “hams can be too much of a good thing.” What they refer to is the propensity of hams to respond en-mass to a call out without regard to their own skills, physical limitations, body condition, time commitment, and mental state.

Over time, these professionals, often “hams” themselves, reach a state where they decline to again issue a call out or utilize other hams in their operations. In essence, they’ve been “burned” once too often by the untrained and unskilled responders who think just because they hold an Amateur Radio license they are natural emergency operators. Their experience proves that merely holding a “ham” license does not an emergency responder make. It takes effort, study and training to be a good emergency responder. Search and Rescue teams know that because of their endless training and drills. They welcome with open arms seriously interested Radio Amateurs who have the self-discipline to undergo rigorous training similar to theirs and the commitment to stay with the program. Think about it. What kind of a potential responder are you? Are you in the small, but elite, fraternity of those highly trained and dedicated? Or are you in a larger group of those with a little training, a little knowledge and fluctuating interest? Or are you in the largest group that has no training, no knowledge of emergency communications, but feel you can help just because you have an Amateur Radio license? Which of these three groups would you like to have assisting if YOUR family’s life and well being were at stake? —-Cary Mangum, W6WWW

Originally published as RACES Bulletin 286, by the California Office of Emergency Services, on August 9, 1993

The Comm Log: Do you "Ham" a Problem?

n7fan:

This piece is from 1993, but it’s still true to this day!

Let’s face it, for the fact that it is: some governments don’t really understand about Emergency Communications Units; they don’t really understand how to work with and utilize volunteers, including hams, some of whom are…

Amateur Radio related.

The Comm Log: Do you "Ham" a Problem?

Do you "Ham" a Problem?

This piece is from 1993, but it’s still true to this day!

Let’s face it, for the fact that it is: some governments don’t really understand about Emergency Communications Units; they don’t really understand how to work with and utilize volunteers, including hams, some of whom are professional communicators.

As a friend of mine put it recently, “Some government people have been “had” —- burned and worn out mentally —- by “hams” who are just that, amateurs (with the small letter “a”) with no real ability at communications; no interpersonal people skills; not willing to work cooperatively; who just don’t fit the type of people that an administrator wants to associate with, work with or be around. Unfortunately, the ham who is responsible for such affairs seldom, if ever, can grasp the significance of his/her actions in causing such unfortunate results. Regretably, once an agency person has experienced such an unpleasant situation, it can seriously hamper the efforts of more qualified professionals who come along later.”

Quite true, I agreed. One idea that came to mind after our discussion was this: avoid the use of “ham” or “amateurs”. Speak in terms of professional communicators who work without pay, similar to a Search and Rescue Unit (SAR). Call it an ECS Unit - Emergency Communications Support Unit or something similar and raise the expectation up to the emotional “want” level. Stay away from “ham” acronyms that can confuse or trigger past memories.

S/S Cary Mangum, W6WWW, State OES Chief Radio Officer

Originally published as RACES Bulletin 286, by the California Office of Emergency Services, on August 9, 1993

Matthew at the #MHSRams - Tempe game on Friday night. #MHSBand (at Tempe High School)

The things we do before school.

Tuesday Morning in Phoenix

Good Tuesday morning from Phoenix’s North Mountain. With Yessika.

Dia...what?

Earlier in July, I went to the doctor for a regular check-up. Part of that involved them drawing blood for testing.

Normally, I get a pretty generic call from the doctor’s office a couple of days later (Everything looks good. You’re cholesterol is still high, etc…).  This time it was short and not-sweet. The doctor wanted to see me in the office, immediately.

Bad news. My cholesterol was where it normally was (still too high) but my blood sugar was WAY UP! I’m talking about 5 points below officially Diabetic. Shoot.

Cut the carbs, increase the protein. Get back to exercising more often. Oh, eating more protein will increase your Uric Acid levels and lead to Gout. However, it also will help you lose weight faster, reduce your blood sugar levels down, and make you healthier.  All except for that “gout thing.”

So, now, in addition to the blood pressure, cholesterol and asthma medication, I now have a little pill for sugar level and one for uric acid level.  And I need to take more Vitamin D.

At least I am not diabetic. That one would be hard to handle. Time to get my life back in order.

What was so bad about the carnival splendor?

The interior of the ship is bright pink.  And there was a general sense of uncleanliness about the ship. It was just dingy and run down.

One Trick Pony?

For quite a while now I have advocated for Ham Radio operators to cross train and learn how to “do” Social Media.

I became interested in the American Red Cross as a ham radio operator. I saw the potential to use my skill-set to help as a disaster communicator. I joined as a volunteer in 1995.

The local chapters used Hams to provide communications in shelter work, and local emergencies, but that was about it.

When I went on my first National disaster assignment, I found that the emphasis for Disaster Communications was telephone installation and fax machine setup. Oh, and tracking cell phones that were issued. Radio communications were used at Mass Care kitchens, for Mobile Feeding coordination and communication, but that was about it.

There were computers for each function, but a network of any sort?  Voodoo magic for sure.  

As I moved up through the experience levels in the Disaster Communications function, and as the 90s passed by, we started to hear talk about “Enterprise solutions”, and combining the DisComm function with the Disaster Computer function. Keep in mind, that the majority of volunteers who deployed on national disaster assignments were retirees. Remember the adage about old dogs and new tricks?  Anything more difficult than a pager was out-of-bounds.

When I left the Red Cross in 2001, we had technology coming out of our ears. ECRVs, Push Kits, Satellite networking, etc.

Gone were the days of only needing linemans plyers, a punchdown tool, some RJ-11 jacks and a box of Twisted 4-pair wire. (I can still recite the 25-pair color codes.)

To remain in the function, you needed to adapt and learn new skills.

The ham radio operator who is interested in remaining useful in Disaster Communications needs to learn and adapt as well.  Don’t throw away the radio, but realize that it’s not the only method anymore.

Also, Hams need to know how to interact with others in disaster operations.

Recently I ran across a posting over at Rakesh Densaer’s blog, The Digital Responder, that discusses this issue, but from a different angle.

Densaer advocates for the creation of a Disaster Technologist:

This calls for a new kind of technology responder, one whose core competency is adapting a range of technologies to the emergency environment.  This is the area of the disaster technologist.

A disaster technologist should have the following skillsets…

1.  Understanding of the emergency environment (e.g. FEMA NIMS/ICS courses, or others depending on response).  This is a fundamental building block since a lack of this understanding means the technologist is operating out of context.

2.  Expertise in multiple technology domains – equally comfortable using multiple methods and multiple modes for communicating.  Why multiple domains?  Because if all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.  What you need are people who have a toolbox full of tools.

3.  Expert collaboration and problem solving skills.   Disaster communications often involves improvising solutions in the field…it will be essential that these individuals are comfortable in the “Iron chef” mode where “making it work” may involve a lot of different sorts of technology and duct tape.  It helps if people play well with others…

But with the aging demographic of Ham Radio licensees, are we again looking at the “Old Dog, New Trick” problem?

It we want to remain relevant to our served agencies/organizations, we owe it to them to learn their procedures and expectations.

True, we have a unique ability to communicate over both long and short distances, but is that enough anymore?  If we stubbornly remain a square peg on a board with round holes, eventually they will find other pegs to plug into their planning holes. Pegs that are adaptable and easier to use.

Hams should put away their hammer of “When All Else Fails” and work on add more tools to the toolbox. How about being relevant before everything fails? How about being KNOWN to your clients beforehand?

Otherwise, we will be the One Trick Pony. The ones they only call for parades.

Get inside your agencies and learn their needs.  Learn how to fill those needs.

Or be relegated to the supply box, next to the Biscuits, POTS and RJ jacks.

Father, forgive them...

For the longest time I have wondered about the meaning of the plea that Jesus Christ made while nailed to the crucifixion cross. 

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains, to the praries,
to the oceans, white with foam,
God Bless America,
My home sweet home.

Top #SMEM Challenges for 2013: I Don't Have Time!

Interesting information on Virtual Operations Support Teams.

Top #SMEM Challenges for 2013: I Don't Have Time!

K9 Ronin, EOW 6/20/13

Bio & Incident Details
Age: 2
Breed: Belgian Malinois
Tour: 3 months
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: Thursday, June 20, 2013
Weapon: Handgun
Suspect: Shot and killed

K9 Ronin was shot and killed as he attempted a take down an armed subject who had fled from officers a short time earlier.

Patrol officers had initially responded to a business on Orangewood Avenue to investigate reports that a man was trespassing at approximately 6:45 pm. When the officer attempted to make contact with the individual the man fled on foot and jumped over a wall into a residential area. The subject was able to elude officers briefly and attempted to force entry into a home. Additional units were able to locate the subject hiding under a trampoline in the 5100 block of Morton Avenue.

K9 Ronin was deployed to subdue the subject, but the man opened fire, fatally wounding him and wounding his handler. Officers returned fire and killed the subject.

K9 Ronin was transported to a local animal hospital where he succumbed to his injuries overnight.

K9 Ronin had served with the Glendale Police Department for only three months and was the agency’s newest canine.

K9 Ronin, EOW 6/20/13

Playing Catch-Up

I have been trying to read up on what I’ve been missing in the various interests that I have.  Now my head is spinning and I need to go lie down.

I’m suffering from information overload this morning. So much for my plan of a grand, awe-inspiring blog posting.

The one nice thing about working from dusk to dawn is that happy hour comes REALLY early. I don’t have to feel guilty when I open a “cold one” at 8am…since that’s almost bed time for me.

View my latest photo on Flickr: http://flic.kr/u/rfK5w/aHsjG58AFj

Tough Decision

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more yuppified Burger King.

Instead of a play area, it had a”Children’s Room.”

Natural Disaster & Emergency Preparedness | Disaster Recovery Plan

I have added this link to my Emergency Preparedness link list, even though it is from a commercial company, and has advertising links all over the page. It is still good information. Hat Tip to Sophie!

Discover how to be prepared for a natural disaster, whether fire, flood, tornado or hurricane. Create a disaster recovery plan for you and your family.

Natural Disaster & Emergency Preparedness | Disaster Recovery Plan

Active WHAT?

For a couple of days in June, I am going to be a”participant” in our department’s Active Shooter Scenario training at the local high school.

This has disaster potential written all over it.

Guess who we ran into at Walmart today? #WillieRobertson, the #DuckCommander. I MUST have a pair of his sunglasses! Matt thought we were a bit crazy, but he stood by the sign for a picture.

Spring Break

Back in February, we purchased season passes to Knott’s Berry Farm and Knott’s Soak City. Because of the water-park located in Palm Springs, it’s only a 4 hour drive for us.  We can run over early on Saturday, play in the water all afternoon and evening, hit a motel overnight and then play some more on Sunday, before driving home.

Well, over Spring Break, we spent two days at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, and another two days at Knott’s Soak City in Palm Springs.  We were adventured out. Unfortunately for me, I had an incident on one of the water slides and ended up with a slight concussion and a bruised up left knee.

The boys have today and Monday off of school, so I’m thinking that it’s time to make another quick trek over to CA and utilize our passes.

Hopefully I’ll survive the journey.

Hope?

This morning I am working on recovering a hard drive that crashed.  It was working fine until I tried to uninstall some software, and then it Blue Screened and died.  Now it won’t boot, and I can’t reinstall WinXP.

Should be an interesting day.

Combination Plate

I’m trying to downsize my online footprint a little bit.  I am consolidating blogs, so that maybe I can get into the habit of updating more often.

So, I have combined my family/generic blog and the Vacation blog into one.

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.

 

This guy was driving like he was Mario Andretti. The poor horse in the trailer could barely keep his feet under him.

The driver was acting the total ass, and the horse was paying for it.

Oops

I finally decided that I didn’t really like the cramped web style that I had originally gone with.

So I changed it.  But, all of my header pictures were reset to stock.  So, now I need to go through the whole site and reset all of the photos.

Dang it.

Oops

Social Media in Emergency Management

Some key reasons on why Emergency Management needs to participate in Social Media, and take it seriously.

If the primary mission of government emergency management is providing service, achieving outcomes, and stimulating participation in emergency management efforts, then some of the key benefits that social media may provide towards this mission are:

• Saving lives through rapid communication.  

• Communicating (more) effectively and directly with constituents.


• Reaching a larger group of constituents.


• Building situation awareness.


• Responding to new, incorrect or conflicting information.


• Building community resilience through prevention, mitigation, and preparedness efforts by the promotion of government participation and building mutual trust in the community.


• Fostering transparency and accountability.


• Reducing call volume (wired and cell) to call centers (non-emergency and emergency).

Social Media in Emergency Management