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Friday, September 30, 2022
Focus: Climate Bonds. Others pay attention to their investments from humanitarian aid, to Wall Street. They meet at the same path. September 2022
Thursday, September 29, 2022
A Jazzman's Blues 2022. This story, other real world locations with a history deeply embedded that is never mentioned openly.
We are all joined and connected. Many may wish for a return to the past.
This story, other real world locations with a history deeply embedded that is never mentioned openly. From Arkansas, Oklahoma, Florida, and now the reality of 2022, Jackson, Mississippi.
Highly recommend to everyone to view the 'Jazzman's Blues'.
CDS
A Jazzman's Blues 2022 Tyler Perry Studios teams with Netflix to bring us a period-based romantic tragedy, unraveling a riveting story of forbidden love between a talented and upcoming Jazzman from the Jim Crow Deep South of Georgia State and a local girl
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Disaster & Emergency Preparedness Network. Podcast. Theory-N2-Practice Podcast Featuring Special Guest: Tony Russell
Theory-N2-Practice Podcast Featuring Special Guest: Tony Russell, CEM PLEASE DO NOT KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF, SHARE FAR AND WIDE! |
Tony Russell is the Superintendent at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Ala. As Superintendent, Mr. Russell provides executive level management and leadership for the CDP as it provides unique, hands-on training to more than 45,000 emergency responders a year from state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies. |  |
Mr. Russell is also responsible for operations of the CDP’s 176-acre campus, which is home to the only training facility in the country where civilian responders can train in a toxic agent environment and the Nation’s only hospital training facility dedicated solely to preparing the healthcare, public health, and environmental health communities for mass casualty events related to terrorism or natural disasters. |
 The Center for Domestic Preparedness provides advanced, all-hazards training to approximately 50,000 emergency responders annually from state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as the federal government, foreign governments, and private entities, as available. The scope of training includes preparedness, protection, and response. Since it opened its doors in 1998, the CDP has trained more than 1.3 million responders. Responders in 17 different disciplines – Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications, Public Works, Agriculture, Education, Citizen/Community Volunteer, Information Technology, Security and Safety, Search and Rescue, and Transportation – train at the CDP. The responders come from all 50 states and territories, as well as a number of foreign countries.  |
Focus: Domestic Preparedness Journal. September 2022. Tribal Nations Test Their Communications Capabilities
Tribal Nations Test Their
Communications Capabilities
By Bruce Fitzgerald
Thunderbird and Whale was the first-ever national-level exercise
thoroughly planned and executed by tribal nations. Lynda Zambrano,
executive director of the National Tribal Emergency Management
Council (NTEMC), shared her team’s approach to the exercise and how
they maximized resources to benefit tribal and non-tribal communities in
the Pacific Northwest.Tribal Nations Take the Lead
The Thunderbird and Whale exercise simulated the scenario of a 9.0-magnitude
earthquake and a resulting 100-foot tsunami so tribal first responders could practice
responding to a catastrophic disaster. The exercise covered the area along the Cascadia
fault line, spanning from northern California to Alaska, including jurisdictions as far
north as British Columbia and as far east as Montana. Satellite communications hubs
were also set up in Florida, Virginia, and Southern California to support the operations.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) planned to conduct its traditional
Cascadia Rising national-level exercise as a discussion-based engagement. However,
tribal public safety organizations wanted to take this further with a full-scale exercise.
The natural choice to plan and execute the training was the NTEMC, a network of tribal
nations that promote emergency management best practices. According to Zambrano:
Our organization was asked if we would take the lead on a national-level, full-scale functional exercise for the tribes so they could physically engage and exercise their comprehensive emergency management plans.
The challenge was that, instead of the typical 2-4 years to prepare for a nationallevel exercise, the tribes had six months and no funding. Zambrano said, “A real-life
event will not take a vacation or wait on us, so we felt it was imperative that we do this
for our tribes.”
The Story of Thunderbird and Whale
Once tribal nations took the lead, they changed the name of the exercise from Cascadia
Rising to Thunderbird and Whale to reflect a traditional story within Pacific Northwest
tribes that dates back thousands of years. Here is Zambrano’s version of the story and
how it relates to the exercise:
Thunderbird soared far out over the placid waters of the ocean. As quick as a flash, the powerful bird darted and seized Whale in its flinty talons and soared away toward the land. Thunderbird carried Whale to its nest in the lofty mountains. The two fought a terrible contest, resulting in shaking and trembling of the earth beneath (representing the earthquake) and a rolling of the great waters (representing the tsunami).
With a new name reflecting their heritage, the tribes planned and coordinated a
realistic exercise that would benefit the tribal and non-tribal communities in the Pacific
Northwestern U.S.
Communications as a Priority
With only six months to plan, the tribes initially focused on communications, which
FEMA identifies as Emergency Support Function #2 (ESF-2) in the National Response
Framework. To create a realistic exercise, the tribes simulated zero communications
after the earthquake hit. “We told everybody they had to turn off their cell phones and
couldn’t use their laptops or answer email or text messages,” said Zambrano. The plan for
initial communications was to use ham radios, which do not rely on infrastructure like
towers and can operate on battery or solar power.
The next critical step was to get a FirstNet deployable on-site. FirstNet deployables
are stationed around the country and can be on-site within 14 hours of the initial
request. Using ham radios to send an email via radio pathways, they contacted the
FirstNet Response Operations Group at AT&T, led by former first responders. Based
on the assessed public safety needs, the group guided the deployment of the FirstNet
deployable assets. In the case of this exercise, the group deployed a FirstNet SatCOLT
(satellite cell on light truck) to the NTEMC’s emergency operations center to provide
connectivity via satellite. The SatCOLT also came with a cache of FirstNet devices that
responders could test in real-time, using features like push-to-talk.
“The assumption was that, due to the earthquake, we had no cellular communications
and very limited email and data until a SatCOLT arrived,” said Zambrano. “I am very proud
and happy to report that everything ran extremely smoothly, and the support was there
and on time. By the following day, we were able to initiate cell phone, email, and internet
traffic.” Communications are one of the most valuable tools in responding to disasters.
“The FirstNet SatCOLT was a critical piece of equipment for us to be able to communicate
with the outside world during the disaster,” said Zambrano. “Without it, we would have
been dead in the water for a very long time.”
Exercise Benefits the Community
With communications secured, the tribes expanded the exercise to encompass all 15
emergency support functions. “This truly became a full-scale exercise,” said Zambrano.
The Thunderbird and Whale participants used the exercise’s resources to assist
communities in the Pacific Northwest directly. Pilots – who volunteered to provide
transportation for the exercise’s food distribution agencies – distributed 80,000 pounds
of food, water, and supplies to coastal tribal nations and local food banks, just as they
would in an actual disaster.
Another benefit of the exercise was that participating tribes learned each other’s
best practices for emergency management. “One of the tribes engaging in this exercise
saw what we were doing and said, ‘Why are we not working with FirstNet?’ And they
immediately had FirstNet come out and do a presentation. Now they’re shifting all their
first responders to FirstNet,” said Zambrano.
She stressed that, even considering all the other benefits, the real point of the exercise
was saving lives. “I really wanted to bring the focus back to the number of lives that were
saved by conducting this exercise,” said Zambrano. “If we don’t talk about the number of
lives saved, then we’ve lost the point of having communications.”
Exercise Support
The Thunderbird and Whale exercise used a template from the Homeland Security
Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) planning documents. The FirstNet Authority
offers support to emergency managers preparing similar plans through the agency’s
Network Experience Engagement Program (NEEP), which includes:
• Pre-incident or event support,• An exercise inject catalog, and • Post-incident or event reviews.
This article was updated with permission from the First Responder Network Authority.
Bruce Fitzgerald is the First Responder Network Authority’s senior public safety advisor for Emergency
Management. Prior to joining the FirstNet Authority, he worked at AT&T as a FirstNet principal consultant
for Maine and Vermont, where he partnered with public safety agencies to adopt and implement FirstNet.
He has experience in crisis management, fiscal and program direction, and government relations at the
federal, state, and local levels. He worked for 14 years at the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA),
serving as the state emergency management and homeland security director among other roles. He also
served as chair of the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC). He has served as the FEMA
Region 1 vice president, national committee co-chair, and member of the board of directors for the National
Emergency Management Association and worked closely with state partners and Canadian provinces through
the Northeast States Emergency Consortium and the International Emergency Managers Group. During
statewide emergencies, he served as the emergency operations center coordinator with responsibility for
coordinating the Emergency Response Team and Disaster Recovery Team. In that role, he responded to the
St. Patrick’s Day and Patriot’s Day disasters in 2007, a statewide ice storm in 2014, and national hurricanes
Katrina, Rita, Irene, and Sandy. In 2012, he led a team of state and private officials and the National Guard to
assist the City of New York in recovering from Hurricane Sandy
September 2022, Domestic Preparedness Journal www.domesticpreparedness.com
Copyright © 2022, Texas Division of Emergency Management
Focus: Domestic Preparedness Journal. September 2022. Whole Community. Resources Not To Be Overlooked
Resources Not to Be Overlooked
By Catherine L. Feinman
The term “whole community” is frequently used
in preparedness materials and discussions.
In practice, though, how often is the whole
community represented and all community resources
considered?
Routine planning meetings and exercises
use the same phone and email lists. The regular
participants get to know each other and build beneficial
relationships.
The key players in the last emergency
response prepare for the next response.
However, the standard phone and email lists and the contacts
from the last response may not include other valuable community
stakeholders and critical resources.
Even during interagency meetings
and exercises, it can be easy to get comfortable with the same names
and faces. When emergencies and disasters occur, though, there are
many others beyond those participants who could be leveraged for
support and resources.
Consider the stakeholders and resources that
are not always included in whole community planning efforts.
For
example:
• Tribal emergency management and rural stakeholders may have unique resources and different preparedness needs.• Volunteers have a lot to offer, but planning is needed to coordinate efforts and leverage their knowledge, skills, and resources. This includes Community Emergency Response Teams and general aviation.• The private sector includes critical communications capabilities and other valuable resources that may be underutilized when not included during the planning process.• Military personnel have life-saving skills that can be taught and applied to civilian mass casualty scenarios and emergency response efforts.
In general, whole community preparedness means involving key
stakeholders in developing preparedness plans and procedures and
ensuring that their roles and responsibilities are outlined in those
plans.
When key players are not involved or valuable resources are
not recognized during the planning phase, gaps are realized during
the response and recovery phases.
For example, as COVID-19 spread,
the need for new planning partners and new resources was realized.
In addition, the capabilities and contributions of nontraditional
partners were recognized.
With the many lessons from the past two years, now is the time to
build resource capacity and look beyond the typical planning partners
and resources.
Before the next pandemic, school shooting, violent
extremist attack, or natural disaster, identify unused or underutilized
resources and invite new faces to the whole community planning
table.
September 2022, Domestic Preparedness Journal www.domesticpreparedness.com
Copyright © 2022, Texas Division of Emergency Management
Focus: Domestic Preparedness Journal. September 2022. Military Combat Skills for Civilian Disaster Response
Military Combat Skills for Civilian Disaster Response
By Lisa Nenno &
Timothy Miller
Click HERE to listen to the Article Out Loud
Copyright © 2022, Texas Division of Emergency Management
Focus: Domestic Preparedness Journal. September 2022. Aviation Response.
Taking Flight – Creating a Robust Aviation Response, Part 1
By Sky Terry
Click HERE to listen to the Article Out Loud
Copyright © 2022, Texas Division of Emergency Management
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