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"When disaster strikes the time to prepare has passed"
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A 7 Part Series:
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"Emergency Communications In The Post-WTC 9/11 Era"
part 1 of 7
by Robert Hejl - W2IK
First responder at WTC 9/11 "Ground Zero" Ex-OES, Ex-AEC, Hurricane Bob, Iniki, Andrew, LI Wildfires, "Storm Of The Century", New England Ice Storms, Flight 800 and other emergency events all rights reserved. Contents may NOT be copied or used in any form or part thereof without written permission. email:W2IK
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Sometimes Ecomm workers have to get in "harm's way" such as when I worked at WTC "Ground Zero" and inhaled the same dust as these rescue workers. I was also hit by debris when WTC building 7 fell.
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The Desperate Need For A New Beginning
On September 11, 2001, Americans awoke to the jolting fact that they can no longer think of themselves as protected from the wrath of others just because the United States is partially isolated by two oceans. For the first time since Pearl Harbor, major attacks were committed on our soil. Along with the attacks we learned some cold, hard facts. The first is that we were woefully unprepared to meet the challenges of terrorism. In every aspect of life, we were unprepared.("Although our Nation's emergency services are the finest in the world, they labor under a handicap imposed by outmoded planning processes that are ill-suited to modern homeland security challenges." - NATIONWIDE PLAN REVIEW Phase2 Report - Department of Homeland Security - June 16, 2006) Playing "catch up" is difficult, expensive and time consuming, but it needs to be done. The creation of a Department Of Homeland Security was a good start. Other agencies have scrambled to update their plans and philosophies on how to deal with external threats. They have done this mainly by adding to the old principles that were already in place, most of them developed during the beginning of the "cold war era". Accomplishing the task in this manner is a terrible mistake. Even non-ham radio training such as courses offered by Red Cross are out of step with what needs to be taught today. I've taken many training courses back in the pre-WTC 9/11 days only to see that when I've retaken them now, they are virtually identical in content.
We, as amateur radio operators, desperately need to start from scratch in both the fields of preparedness and communications if we are to remain ahead of the challenges that can be thrust upon us at any moment. Old rules and old training no longer apply. Anyone who thinks that by dusting off outdated training manuals or adding a few paragraphs here and there to existing guides will make their kind of training adequate during a terrorist event is living in a fantasy world. These people or groups are both blind and foolish. This includes the "new" ARRL EMCOMM training courses. Harsh words? Perhaps. But how harsh the penalty of not being properly prepared and trained for the next event? Parameters have changed to such a degree that we need to be trained differently and become ready in the latest aspects of emergency communications. This can partially be accomplished by listening to progressive and experienced communicators in developing both the training and the means to properly support their communities during events such as terrorist attacks. Those of us who have actually been in the "terrorist trenches" of emergency communications can tell you one thing: Old rules no longer apply. It is also important for people to realize that unless you've "eaten dirt" in emergency communications (and not just being deployed in some shelter during a hurricane) you have no business training others by writing, theorizing and instructing. Those who have developed training programs without actually having been confronted with real emergencies have little truths to offer and little in the way of guiding new communicators. Serious experience isn't deploying to some shelter and reporting. (Although manning shelters is a vital cog in the complete emergency communications program and anyone who deploys is owed a debt of gratitude.) What I mean by serious experience is literally being a first responder getting dirty, getting near or in harm's way to supply communications "in the eye of the storm".) It's a shame that when some groups were developing their brand of training all the "badge polishers" never stopped to ask for the knowledge gained from experienced emergency communicators. This series is attempting to correct that very serious error by giving you information based on real-world experiences during hurricanes, winter storms, wildfires, plane crashes and terrorism.
As a basic example concerning preparedness, until 2001, we usually had a window of time to prepare for most events, such as hurricanes, winter storms, flooding and the threat of growing wildfires. We had the luxury of time to charge batteries, assemble and check our equipment and run to the store to get needed supplies to "top off" our go-bags. You'd see a hurricane coming days away as it would cross some ocean or gulf. Wildfires take time to build in their coverage and intensity. To be sure, there are events we've assisted in that were quick to bloom, such as an earthquake, but these are in the minority. Even a search and rescue mission has a window of time in which to prepare. It might be a smaller amount of time, but it does exist. What DOES NOT exist is any window of time when a terrorist event takes place. Not only is time of the essence, the terrorist event might be just the first in a string of fast occurring events. We must develop a philosophy quite like that used by fire departments which is to always be trained and ready with everything we need on hand. "Grab and Go" should be the rule. In my home, I have a "Grab and Go" bag with everything that I assume would be needed to assist in emergency communications, including during a terrorist attack. It is in the same location as my "Grab and Go" CERT backpack. Ready. Waiting. We no longer have the luxury of time to become prepared. Later in this series I go through "What To Have Before You Go" and exactly why. This is not just a list as you might expect from another training source, but a detailed explanation.
However, just having adequate "hardware" and supplies is not enough. Along with the proper tools to handle a terrorist event comes the training (not just reading a course or doing some tabletop exercises) and a totally new and different philosophy in emergency communications response. Being the first emergency communications responder deployed at "ground zero" during the WTC 9/11 attacks, I've had a unique "baptism by fire". In being faced with the new challenges forced upon me, I've developed ideas and principles that were never covered in training by any emergency communications group. I had to do this to both survive and properly carry out my communications responsibilities. I also learned from this event, and many others I have been a part of, that there were dozens of things covered in the popular training manuals that were glaringly wrong. Most of these courses and manuals are stuck in the "60's attitude" and were written by people who've never been faced with real-life events. In some respects supplying emergency communications in the field is like fighting a war. In today's climate you don't fight a battle using 1960's (or even 1990's) equipment, experience or training.
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Mental preparedness is just as important as communications training. Just about anyone can learn how to properly use a radio or set up a communications post. However, without the mental toughness to perform under such stressful situations such as being surrounded by needless death and destruction, you could quickly withdraw into an "emotional shell" and in doing so this would cripple your ability to be an effective communicator. No one can give you a present of "mental toughness", but later in this series I will show you ways to combat your fears. If, after reading the section on mental and emotional preparedness, you feel that you cannot cope with the mental and emotional stress of being "on the front lines", then inform your EC or whomever is responsible for deploying your group that you cannot work faced with this sorrow. They will understand and use your talents elsewhere, such as supplying communications support in a shelter or will allow you to do support work in some other non-stressful atmosphere. Not all of us can face the aftermath of a terrorist attack close up. This doesn't make you less valuable as a resource. To be faced with a terrorist event means the possibility of seeing destruction close up. This means the sight of human remains in all types of degradation such as those witnessed by rescue crews during a plane crash. Some of us cannot tolerate such scenes. Others have learned to work beyond it towards a goal of helping those who might still be able to be saved. This does not mean that you will be charged with any responsibility of victim removal, but you may be faced with seeing this happen as you fulfill your communications duties. The only recommendation I can make at this time is to become focused at your job at hand. Later in this series I will go into mental and emotional preparedness.
Do not waiver from the reason you are there: Supplying communications as part of the team who are responding to the event. Focus on radio, not the sorrow. Yes, during the WTC disaster I did see many horrors such as body parts. Yes, I knew the dust I was breathing contained cremated remains of victims but it did not stop me from the core of my job, that of supporting the team effort by supplying emergency communications.
As you read on, I will try to explain in detail my remarks as stated above.
A new approach to emergency communications.
A basic communications training program.
The proper hardware for deployment.
Mental and emotional preparedness.
A New Concept In Equipment Deployment For A Terrorist Event
How to cope with the unexpected.
Tactics and techniques.
Thinking on your feet beyond your training.
Family Preparedness For Natural Disasters and Terrorism
A NEW APPROACH TO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS:
The new keyword in emergency communications following the disasters in 2001 is: FLEXIBILITY. Gone are the straight and narrow concepts that have long been drummed into the heads of emergency communicators who've trained using antique manuals and philosophies. They are still teaching the wrong path to reach the right goal. You must become flexible in both your ideas and your execution while maintaining the basic concept of emergency communications, that being to pass information quickly and accurately.
Always be aware of where you are, what you are doing, what other resources are around you to use should things change. Each emergency event will produce it's own unique set of parameters. For instance, if we were to plug in the same response parameters that we'd normally follow during a hurricane and apply them to a multidimensional event created by a terrorist incursion we'd be setting ourselves up for a communications nightmare. There are times, however, when you should NOT be flexible. During a hurricane you might pass information not exactly (word for word) what was originally given to you. Let's face it, asking for 20 cots at an evac center is a simple matter. However, during a terrorist event you'll be asked to relay information that might contain coded messages, as was the case during the World Trade Center Disaster. Sending coded information was needed because it was felt that many ears were listening in to our communications ... both the press and terrorists. Those of you with "stiff necks" might disagree. If you do, then you've never been involved in this kind of event. This is one area when being flexible is NOT an option! You must give the information EXACTLY as was given to you. This dismisses the sending of any information in NTS formatted traffic. So DO NOT take it upon yourself to reformat the information. GET OUT OF THE NTS MINDSET. Stick with plain text message sending with read-backs to verify. THOSE WHO PREACH NTS TRAFFIC HANDLING ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE ARE LIVING IN "YESTERDAY".
An example of improper training:
"ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Courses -- Student Activities
EC-001 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level I [Revised 06/22/04]
LU 9 :
2. Assume that you are helping a served agency staffer condense a lengthy message. Edit the following message text to reduce the number of words to a minimum, without losing any clarity.
"We need 50 additional cots and blankets at the Roe School shelter, and we also need more food since 20 new people just arrived and we are told another 30 may be coming soon. Please call me and tell me when these supplies will arrive." "
By preaching this method, it's only human nature that many ops will take it upon themselves to re-format a message unaided. When this is done during a terrorist event, it will lose any coded traffic which might be sent by the shelter manager.
STICK TO PLAIN TEXT MESSAGING
During a terrorist event it also becomes necessary to lie. Yes, I said lie. Remember that your communications might be monitored by many people. The press, eager to get a "scoop", the public in general and even terrorists might be listening. I lied quite a bit in my communications when I was at "ground zero". I lied when I sent my location and what it was. My location was held secret because of it's very sensitive nature of being the forward command post (or Incident Command Center if you wish to call it that) where many decisions were made. There was a rumor that additional terrorist acts were eminent. What better way to create additional chaos than to set off a car bomb in front of the incident command center. Up until the third day they allowed just about any van to drive up to the building. Very poor basic security at that point. Our security awareness "grew up" after 9/11. And so, when asked for my location, I lied. I said on the air that I was manning an evac center and even gave bogus hourly reports of client numbers, etc. My "bosses" knew where I was and knew no evac center existed. I also lied when I was communicating with the mayor's bunker. If you monitored my communications you'd have thought I was communicating with just another evac center. You can see this by listening to a short communications of mine as recorded half way through the BBC broadcast entitled: "Unsung Heroes". Those messages were also coded by both myself and the operator at the mayor's bunker.
You were never taught to lie during any ARES/RACES training both old and new. I also broke standard FCC rules by sending what would be called "coded" traffic. But, after a terrorist strike both became a necessity. You, as a communicator, could easily be responsible for the escalation of an event by inadvertently mentioning sensitive facts on the air between dedicated message sending or by revealing a "secret" location. It became a new world with new rules that day. Be aware of where you are deployed and if it's location is sensitive. If need be, you might have to lie. Whomever deployed you knows where you are. No need to inform others, even ops deployed elsewhere.
Our country has great potential as givers. I've seen it many times during many emergencies. During several wildfires on Long Island, I have witnessed the generosity of teenagers when they baked cakes and delivered them to evacuation shelters. Displaced families being taken in by neighbors in upstate New York during ice storms which cut off towns from the rest of the world. Search and rescue missions run by everyday groups when people were reported missing after hurricanes struck. During the WTC event the streets near the Red Cross Headquarters were literally jammed with people wanting to help. There was a line over two blocks long with people wanting to give blood. Down near the disaster site there were many vehicles handing out food. These weren't just emergency service organizations but "Mom and Pop" stores and places such as "Outback" and countless local Chinese restaurants ... all giving ... all doing. This is the spirit and philosophy that is America. Along with this is the caring nature of amateur radio operators. Hams want to help. It's in our blood. However, without proper and up-to-date "real world" training, we can sometimes cause harm in our attempts to do good. During any ham radio operator's deployment there are things we should and should not do.
To help you find a good start towards your goal of supplying emergency communications during any disaster, including terrorism, I have written a course to guide you from the very beginning. In it, I have included many items you need to know about even before you talk on your radio. I also cover drill events, public service events, emergency events and how to be properly prepared for all. Use this along with any real life training, such as working during public events, to hone your skills for the day when you will be called upon to help during an actual emergency. The chances are that any emergency communications deployment you'd be asked to participate in would involve a natural disaster, however, you must always be aware that terrorists can create havoc anytime and anywhere (even during a natural disaster) so be prepared for both. Get all the items I suggest in the training section, as soon as possible, especially the two types of respirators I've listed. Now on to some basic training. This is unlike any you've ever read and for good reason. It is based upon the real world, real events and not antique training or philosophies.
COMPLETED, NOW RELEASED (CLICK ON TITLE BELOW)
COMPLETED, NOW RELEASED (CLICK ON TITLE BELOW)
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to visit a few of my 30 other ham radio webpages:
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