Photo By Sgt. Maria Henderson | Capt. Natalie Dailey from the 204th Public Affairs Detachment gives a presentation...... read more read more
LARGO, Fla. — Soldiers from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 204th Public Affairs Detachment visited the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center on Sept. 12, 2025, to learn how local agencies manage crisis communication during emergencies. The tour, led by Pinellas County communications director Dave Connor, offered insight into the county’s response strategies for natural disasters and mass-casualty events.
LARGO, Fla. — Soldiers from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 204th Public Affairs Detachment visited the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center on Sept. 12, 2025, to learn how local agencies manage crisis communication during emergencies. The tour, led by Pinellas County communications director Dave Connor, offered insight into the county’s response strategies for natural disasters and mass-casualty events.
Connor also walked the group through lessons learned from the EOC activations during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which brought a record 7-foot storm surge, an estimated $2.5 billion in residential damage, impacts to nearly 700 businesses and the loss of 12 lives. He outlined how the Public Information team pushed evacuation messaging, issued timely emergency alerts, published multilingual and accessible content, countered misinformation and connected residents to recovery resources such as debris pickup schedules and housing assistance.
“Clear, credible information saves lives,” Connor said. “Our goal was to provide accurate guidance to people fast in formats everyone can access—then sustain that communication through community engagement and strong partnerships."
The Soldiers compared Army Reserve public affairs processes with the county’s incident command roles to align tasks and identify where PA teams can plug in during activations.
“It was an eye-opening experience seeing what happens behind the scenes during large-scale incidents,” said Spc. Johnny Armstrong, a public affairs specialist with the 204th PAD. "“Training side-by-side with county communicators showed us how the Joint Information Center prioritizes life-safety updates and counters rumors in real time—now we know exactly where our team can plug in to add value."
During the visit, Communications Department staff shared best practices and emphasized interagency coordination. “Whether it’s a hurricane or a mass-casualty event, our goal is the same — clear, coordinated messaging that protects the public,” Connor said.
Spencer Shaw, the county’s training, exercise and notification coordinator, briefed the group on the National Incident Management System. He explained how NIMS standardizes roles, terminology and command structures to streamline multiagency coordination during complex incidents.
“Training like this helps bridge the gap between civilian and military operations, especially when lives are on the line,” Shaw said. "Shared training gives us a common operating picture and NIMS language, so information moves faster and more accurately when it matters most."
Capt. Natalie Dailey and Sgt. 1st Class John Carkeet outlined Army Reserve public affairs capabilities and the role they play in supporting emergency operations — coordinating messaging, documenting events and maintaining transparency.
“Training like this helps us better understand the civilian side of emergency operations so we can integrate more effectively when called upon,” Dailey said. “The Army Reserve brings a unique set of skills to the table, but it’s the coordination with civilian partners that makes the mission successful.”
The engagement underscored a shared commitment to public safety and set the stage for continued collaboration between Pinellas County and the Army Reserve through joint training, aligned protocols and faster, more unified responses when disasters strike.
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2025 20:48 |
| Story ID: | 548641 |
| Location: | LARGO, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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