This is not an exposé on self-identity but rather one to assist leaders to enhance their command staffing on a dark sky day. When you are planning a large scale planned event, you hopefully have time to design this event for all contingencies. However, when you must staff the emergency operations center (EOC) or have representatives on-scene with operations, you need full connectivity with all-disciplines. We are taught that emergencies are not the time for introductions. We can no longer attempt to handle today’s situations with ‘business as usual’ thinking or thinking we will get miracled through this one. There are no do-overs in the real world; one chance to get this right the first time. We allegedly train to face tomorrow’s challenges, but do we really do this? No, we usually train within our comfort zone. If we want to improve, we must strive to develop training where all are uncomfortable, and challenge ourselves to be better.
Connections
All emergency partners should already be acquainted and familiar with each other’s operational capabilities. You have, haven’t you? In a perfect world, you have trained together from planning to table-top exercises to real-time drills. Team members should be on a first name basis and already in your cell phone. I was trained to have my cellphone list so deep that I would have a solution within no more than two phone calls. On your worst day, you do not have time to research and perform internet searches; you need answers now. When asked what we will do—“I know a guy” was my response. In an evolving situation you do not have time to perform an internet search, read a recent white paper or time to read a book—lives are at stake. Try to get to know the experts who wrote those papers and have them as a resource. When you attend a conference or training, network! Remember the rule—no more than two phone calls from a solution!
Color coding personnel
When planning we tend to call the police side of house—blue. We like to color the fonts in blue. We are proud of our blue line and all things blue. The fire side of the team, we paint them red, while EMS and/or EMA are painted green. Each of these disciplines have their own vernacular; acronyms and idiosyncrasies abound in these worlds. One of the main goals for any event is that of clear and concise communication. However, this needs to be stressed at times for we retreat into our comfort zones. This is not only radio communications but face to face as well. I strongly encourage commanders to seek within their staff those who are the anomalies within their ranks. You see I was told that I was one of those anomalies. I started out as an EMT (green) before entering the US Army MP Corps (military). Became a police officer (blue) and started that career. All the time, I have volunteered as a firefighter (red) and all-hazards Incident Management Team (IMT) member. When the staffing charts for our IMT came out, I was color coded as purple. There were reds, greens, and blues but very few purples. Our team coordinator told us that he prided seeking out and then placing purple people on each of our rotational teams. Our skill sets transcended traditional jobs for we also have insights with our fellow responders from their world. Seems to be trivial but the connectivity and enhanced communications will prove be valuable. Just the simple understanding of terms, equipment and procedures will go a long way in team building.
Bad day disconnects
From my years of experience, I have seen and suffered through several flawed events and some nearly catastrophic events. Some occurred before we arrived, some evolved before our eyes and sometimes there was nothing to do but to grab it and deal with it. A few, there were predictable disconnects that should have been addressed on the front side. The intelligence branch of the house, whether you have a fusion center or internal staffing, there are gaps we needed to address. Do you include the fire side of the house within intel planning and processing? Fire should have valuable insights from preplans, hazardous material storage and other dangers lurking that we would miss. Your EMS and EMA components should be consulted as well. What are the local and regional capabilities for a mass casualty response and hospital patient surge? How quickly can the Emergency Management Agency spin-up their emergency operations center and how much support can they offer to you? We all want to handle our business for our house, but there are times where you will need help. Have the discussions now while there is time to work and talk, not screaming through the chaos.
Too many hats
A cataclysmic flaw I find nearly everywhere is the multitasking on key players with no backup plans. Everyone has staffers that wear more than one hat. I have seen some plans where the same two or three key figures’ names were typed in throughout the plan. How deep is the bullpen when a key player is not there (sick, vacation, retired, whatever) and you need someone? The redundancy of training and staffing must be reviewed. Do you have contingency plans for succession planning? In some positions, it may take years to gain experience and certifications.
A battlefield commission sounds dramatic, but you must have the tools in the toolbox to be successful. Just giving someone a title does not give them instant intelligence. If you have some slots open (empty hats)—find a purple person. They might may not be the perfect fit, but they can cover the bases and make the connections. They know the talk and can do the walk in a bind. During your worse days, you have got to field a team and cannot reschedule it for another day—it is going to happen, so have a plan of action.
Recall when I said that we must get out of our comfort zones? Next planning session or tabletop training exercise—switch some of the players around. If you have that one guy who holds all the institutional experience and knowledge, you know the one everybody counts on handling it while they watch. Pull he or she out of the training, he is ‘sick’ this day and it is now on the second string, no better way to learn. Purposefully place staffers in their new roles to keep them sharp on their secondary mission. It is best to train them now while they can turn this into a learning experience and not a true disaster. Lessons like this will assist any chief or sheriff when selecting and training staff members for bad days. One flaw of supervisors is not fully knowing the skillsets of their staff. Get to know your people and capture their experience. Need equipment moved, who was once a truck driver or heavy equipment operator? Who has volunteered as a fire fighter or EMT? Knowing your staff’s skills places you well ahead of any event. Face it, they all have hidden talents; find them out and color code them within your starting roster. Face it on a dark sky day when lives are on the line, success outcomes is everything.
William L. Harvey | Chief
William L. "Bill" Harvey is a U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC). Harvey served for over 23 years with the Savannah (GA) Police Department in field operations, investigations and completed his career as the director of training. Served as the chief of police of the Lebanon City Police Dept (PA) for over seven years and then ten years as Chief of Police for the Ephrata Police Dept (PA). In retirement he continues to publish for professional periodicals and train.
