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In preparation for the coming hurricane season, Team Shaw gathered for a response and recovery summit, to train and educate Ninth Air Force units and contractors on the proper responses and precautions taken post-disaster, March 26 - 28.
Col. Brian Laidlaw, 325th Fighter Wing commander, invited Ninth Air Force personnel to Shaw’s Carolina Skies Club to help improve and update installation emergency management and base support plans in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season.
Laidlaw, Col. Patrick Miller, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Task Force Phoenix vice commander, as well as Chief Master Sgt. Eric Butts, 1st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Task Force Raptor maintenance commander, were part of the guest speaker panel and discussed their respective roles as primary responders during Hurricane Michael.
Since most Ninth Air Force installations are located on the East Coast, it is important to discuss previous hurricane seasons and ones to come.
“I implore everyone who can to just take care of themselves and get out of town, worry about their safety first, although sadly that isn’t always possible or the best advice,” said Laidlaw. “For everyone who can’t get out of town, I want to make sure they are aware of exactly what to do and are taken care of before I retire.”
Hurricane Michael, which hit Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, in October 2018, led to a refined and systematic plan being implemented, first at Tyndall, now at Shaw as well as other bases targeted by natural disasters.
“As wing commander, I can tell Ninth Air Force Airmen to adhere to a system we have in place, but we need accountability of everyone, and it is a group effort to keep everyone safe and accounted for after a disaster,” said Laidlaw.
After Hurricane Michael, response teams discovered many issues. Only one cell provider had service, contractors were difficult to contact and individuals were not being paid. To add to this, most Airmen did not know the AFIMSC provided help or a place to stay.
Tyndall residents were unable to get ahold of the AFIMSC during a storm other than through social media.
“From those experiences, there are now more than eight cellular applications being set up through AFIMSC, which Airmen can download to get updates and a step-by-step process of what to do during a particular emergency,” said Miller.
Part of the operations of AFIMSC are to pass out Meals-Ready-to-Eat to the base. AFISMC also publishes evacuation entitlement and voucher processing guides to establish an ongoing support through the Total Force Service Center. The entitlement and guides led to a $93 million budget dedicated to repairing and helping Airmen to get back on their feet in 2018.
Leadership faced the challenge of reaching base contractors who typically only the company supervisors. Now there is an improved system which keeps accountability of contractors as well as ensures they get paid in hurricane seasons to come.
“Previously, we couldn’t get ahold of contractors because we had to contact their bosses to contact them,” said Laidlaw. “Many people did not have cell service and contractors were not getting paid. People were using their government cards in the cases of disasters, so we set up a system where finance could approve all the contractors’ time cards and increase every government card holder’s limit to $20,000 during these times. This way no one is stranded without money.”
Department of Defense Instruction 3025.21, is designed for wing commanders use during natural disasters after the president has declared a ‘major disaster’, an ‘emergency’ or ‘emergency work,’ which authorizes 10 days of work for essential preservation of life and property.
During these declarations of emergency, there is a set evaluation process for requests of assistance that looks at costs, appropriateness, risks, readiness, lethality and legality. In doing so, they can be more efficient in responding to requests and taking actions during disasters.
“We’re at a great location where we can gather everyone from the Ninth Air Force units and bring them here to talk hurricane disaster recovery prior to a hurricane happening,” said Capt. Isabelle Klinshirn, Ninth Air Force logistics readiness officer.
Response teams and leadership look at good lessons learned from the last hurricane season for the purpose of getting information out to the masses.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 04.11.2019 14:23 |
| Story ID: | 317761 |
| Location: | SHAW, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Ninth Air Force recovery summit convenes at Shaw, by A1C Kaitlyn Brewer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
