Feds go for the guns

The AP & Washington Times articles have spurred much discussion this morning among NIUSR members.

Here are the articles:

AP - US Military Could End Up Leading the Fight Against Mother Nature
Washington Times - Bush Seeks To Federalize Emergencies

Lets hear from you, using the [comments] link below.

King For A Day

I thought we'd mix things up a bit today and try something a little different to spark the brain cells and get folks thinking.

Situation One: You been contacted by President Bush and advised that you are the new Director of FEMA and that the Cabinet Level post has been re-established. Your job is now to prepare for Hurricane Rita while simultaneously revamping the organization and leading the Agency in responding to the Katrina aftermath.

Challenge: Name the first 5 things you would accomplish and how you would go about accomplishing them.

Situation Two: You been contacted by President Bush and advised that you are the new Director of FEMA and that the Cabinet Level post is not going to be re-established. Your job is now to prepare for Hurricane Rita while simultaneously revamping the organization and leading the Agency in responding to the Katrina aftermath.

Challenge: Name the first 5 things you would accomplish and how you would go about accomplishing them.

Obviously, we each have those ideas that we believe could re-baseline or further enhance the organization, but putting those ideas into actionable items isn't the same thing. One of the exercises here is to get everyone to look beyond the surface issues, explore the root cause(s) and effect(s), and then determine possible methods of overcoming the obstacles. Of course, we at NIUSR say identify the opportunity for improvement, understand the opportunity and why it needs improving (because we all know that if something isn't broke, then don't fix it), and then articulate how to implement the improvement. Who knows, maybe someone inside the beltway will read the responses to this post and take some valuable nuggets away.

Bryan

Communications Interoperability

I will begin by citing the closing statement of Senator John McCain during his "FLOOR SPEECH ON INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS" on 13 September, 2005 to wit:

“I will conclude by sharing 9/11 Commission Chairman Kean’s comments as stated on CNN’s Late Edition this past Sunday, “[w]hat’s frustrating is it’s the same thing over again. I mean, how many people have to lose their lives? It’s lack of communication, our first responders not being able to talk to each other.... Basically it’s many of the things that, frankly, if some of our recommendations had been passed by the United States Congress … could have been avoided. But on the ground, the people that get there first can’t talk to each other because the radio communications don’t work. They haven’t got enough what’s called spectrum. So there is a bill in Congress to provide first responders spectrum. The bill has been sitting in Congress, nothing has been happening, and again, people on the ground -- police, fire, medical personnel – couldn’t talk to each other. That’s outrageous and it’s a scandal and I think it cost lives.” I couldn’t agree more.”

Now, even though the lack of sufficient spectrum coupled with the geographic spectrum management issues are clearly valid concerns, I’d like to point to a very different, yet equally contributing factor affecting interoperable public safety communications. I call it “the Vendor Syndrome”. As with any technology in our free enterprise, competition is spurred by a valid customer need, coupled with who can deliver the goods with requisite “bells & whistles” for a decent price. This tends to drive competition to the point where standards are implemented, but not necessarily in the same way or using the same schedule. This means that any manufacturer can claim “Standards Compliance” while remaining predominantly proprietary, thereby protecting and/or increasing their market share and unseating the competition.

Remember, open competition was the anticipated result of setting the P25 standard, with the interoperability requirement that P25-compliant equipment from any qualified manufacturer must work together seamlessly. In addition, the P25 suite of standards provides an open interface to the radio frequency (RF) subsystem to facilitate interlinking of different vendors' systems. Product options however, may sometimes dictate equipment be procured exclusively from a single manufacturer, thereby effectively limiting or eliminating interoperability. It is important to be aware of this if interoperability is important to your communications. Vendors today include Motorola, M/A-COM, EF Johnson, iCOM, Bendix King, RELM, KENWOOD, DATRON, Thales, and Vertex just to name a few.

It is important to note that P25 is not a "single standard", but really a "number of individual protocols" that can be mixed and matched. A "Project 25 compliant" system may really use only a few of the many standards. For instance, a P25 system may be conventional or trunked, use encryption or transmit in the clear, and carry voice, data, or both.

OK, I’ll end this entry, but would like to ensure that everyone understands that we must be willing to agree to disagree. Nobody has to agree with anything I’ve said, but don’t go flaming just because everyone is steadfastly standing by their solution as the greatest. I say, as long as a system meets its user requirements, then they may have a valid position from which to debate. However, wait until they bring some outside organizations into their jurisdiction and see if they can communicate with the visiting teams' portable/mobile radios. If they can’t, then there’s a problem.

Bryan

Legacy Missions

Terrorism is getting all the DHS-related press. Consequently, most people inside and outside government think that the legacy missions of agencies like FEMA and the Coast Guard have been supplanted by terrorist related responsibilities to a much greater degree than they actually have. While it's true that a lot of planning for terrorism has been added to what was already on our plates, the legacy missions of FEMA and the CG have changed very little with the move to DHS.

I may be wrong, but I believe that what was lost in FEMA more than anything was the leadership skills and subject matter expertise in key places. The legislation that moved FEMA didn't change its mission as far as I can remember. For that reason, I take Dr.Sylevs' advocacy for radical change with a grain of salt. I stand to be corrected. We would all like to see the federal government revolve around our mission areas, but it's too big and complex for that to happen.That's not to say that we shouldn't use teachable moments to call attention to our needs.

Dan Lemon

Let's Put Your Hand on the Plough

There is an old axiom in farming…

“If you put your hand on the plough you finish the row”

Well we have put our hand on this blog, but I’m not sure at our present pace that we will even get the row started.

Let’s give everyone on the NIUSR Executive Board access to be contributors and post directly to the blog, not just a few of us with the remainder of the group being shuffled to the back page in the comments section.

Let’s discuss issues in front of the world, at least those that are not confidential, so that we draw people’s attention. The intent of the blog is not to hear ourselves talk but to spread the word.

What's Next?

Let's take a look at what could be the potential for follow-on hazards related to our recent disaster in the Gulf.

Displaced citizens are being temporarily relocated across the country. Now health officials have stated that the potential risk of Hepatitis is high for those who spent any amount of time in the post-hurricane water. Good-hearted samaritans, without asking or knowing, are taking some of these individuals into their homes, which creates the potential for large scale spread of the viral infection.

Flood waters rose to a very significant level and devasted structures. Anyone who has been in a post-flood restored environment knows that mold will soon appear. Since the flood waters were so severely contaminated, and since it will take time to remove the debris and condemned buildings, the next logical stage of the threat is mold. Mold can create numerous health risks but not everyone thinks about it beyond the pungent odor it creates.

Re-flooding due to the immense ground saturation is a very likely event. Repairing levies and de-flooding the area is great for creating access, but provide absolutely no relief from the saturated ground, which will store the un-evaporated water until the next heavy rainstorm or surge, at which time a new flood will occur.

So let's put our heads together and think of those things that can occur beyond the obvious, and then think of mitigating the risk, and then tell someone who can take the appropriate action.

"Katrina and the Waves"

In keeping with the "hot news" of today, I would like to focus on current events surrounding our Gulf Coast states.

I've read in countless articles and online forums that everyone is looking for a scape-goat or someone to blame for the response & recovery efforts, or perceived lack thereof, in Mississippi and Louisiana. One posting in particular caught my interest. It is a posting of an article run by the New Orleans Times-Picayune on July 24, 2005 (six weeks ago).

The message was clear and simple: City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give a historically blunt message: "In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own."

Staff writer Bruce Nolan reported: "In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation."

"In the video, made by the anti-poverty agency Total Community Action, they urge those people to make arrangements now by finding their own ways to leave the city in the event of an evacuation.

"You're responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you," Wilkins said in an interview. "If you have some room to get that person out of town, the Red Cross will have a space for that person outside the area. We can help you."

Now, if there is one recurring message that has been echoed by many, yet apparently embraced by far fewer, it is that citizens and communities must come together and become self-sufficient. CERT/NERT and numerous other good programs have started at the grassroot level and have seen success. But in order to be a success, they had to be supported by everyone in the community from the leadership to the populace.

Will the aftermath of Katrina and her violent waves provide us with another wakeup call? Or will we as a nation, once again, fall victim to our short-term memory and be content with the fact that these types of catastrophic disasters could never happen in our hometown?

Thoughts for Labor Day

My Thoughts for Labor Day....

It is a unique occurrence in this Country that professional responders are completely overwhelmed...

Social issues sometimes greatly complicate disaster response...

Logistical support in disasters (food, water, gas, medicine) sometimes stumbles...

But some of the death and suffering that occurred last week should never have happened...

Communications should not completely break down...

I don't understand how it could happen here...

Frank

How high-tech is coming to the rescue

Scientists bring gadgets to post-Katrina disaster scene

Story Originally Published at www.msnbc.com by:
Alan Boyle
Science editor
MSNBC
Updated: 4:27 p.m. ET Aug. 30, 2005

In Hurricane Katrina's wake, researchers are bringing cutting-edge technologies to the disaster area, just as they did after catastrophes ranging from the 9/11 terror attacks to last year's Asian tsunami.

The search-and-rescue tools include devices and software that can turn walkie-talkies into Internet grids when the phones are out, robots and aerial mini-planes that can look for signs of life amid the wreckage, and sensor systems that can sniff out public health threats in the storm's aftermath.

"Just as people, after the tsunami, deployed this ad hoc array of Internet boxes and sensor devices in Asia, they will come in this time and do it again," said Paul Saffo, director of the California-based Institute for the Future, who is himself a search-and-rescue volunteer.