1. Change, fast and slow

            2. Jointness: A Success Story 

            3. The Interactive Training Cycle—Are we halfway there?

Change, fast and slow

Next month the MARS 101 course takes up the slow kind of change you  don’t necessary detect while it’s happening. I refer to Unit 10, which will cover the  National Incident Management System—NIMS. You might call NIMS the federal  charter for all emergency response involving civil agencies. 

Drafting the initial NIMS started after 9/11 and took two and one-half  years. Completing the first update to NIMS started after Hurricane Katrina and  also took two-and-one half years.

What changed over those years—for many people quite imperceptibly-­what changed was the primary focus of the overall concept. The original NIMS  listed its priorities with Command and Management at the very top. In short,  who’s in charge here? The new, December 2008 NIMS revision pushed the  command function well down the list and put Preparedness on top.

Communications came next.  

I wholeheartedly agree with the change in focus!

Preparedness for what?  This shift of emphasis from Command to  Preparedness reflects more than just the gross lack of readiness for Hurricane  Katrina. Within the strategic planning community, there has been a lively debate  ever since 9/11.One school felt there was too much optimism that terrorist  attacks actually could be prevented, and not nearly enough emphasis on  minimizing the impact once an attack happened. Another argument was that  natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, which are predictable at least on a  geographical basis, should have received more attention than unpredictable  hostile action. Who can say where terrorists might strike? But we know where the  earthquake faults are, and the inadequate levees, and the tornado alleys and so  on. 

What does this shifting emphasis mean for MARS?  We are Preparedness  personified, with our widely distributed membership “on site,” as it were,  throughout the country, and trained, equipped and ready. As for the restated  NIMS priority on Communications, the Army MARS WinLink messaging system  and our Incident Reporting facility are uniquely essential for any EMA’s readiness  tool box.

Jointness 101: A Success Story

The success story is a great teaching tool, but it has its limitations. “Not all  situations are created equal” is one of them.’ For instance I’d bet few states  had such a head start on jointness as Vermont did, whose current director has  been working with the state EOC since the mid-1950s, back in the Cold War  era. It’s how he leveraged that advantage which is the subject of tonight’s  success story. 

I’d better begin by clarifying that Vermont is joined with New Hampshire  and Maine under leadership of the Northern New England director. It happens that the present AAA1NN is from Vermont.

Since 9/11, Northern New England Director Ray Machell, AAA1NN, and  his staff have facilitated licenses and installed Winlink-ready stations for—now  hold your breath--for the Vermont OEC and all its mobile units; the Vermont  Department of Health; 13 hospitals; the White River Junction VA Regional  Medical Center; the Vermont Agency for Transportation, the Vermont Rapid  Response Team; and the Vermont Radiological Response Program, which  also covers the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant. In addition, all the equipment  is ready for a TSA station at Burlington International Airport, in Vermont, as  soon as new quarters are finished.

Federal funds purchased the equipment, MARS and RACES volunteers  did a lot of the installing, and Machell heads the training program. All but two  of the stations are already up and running on HF, VHF and UHF. Machell  calculates he is about 40 percent of the way installing SCS modems for  Winlink at all of them. All the modems are on hand.

Machell’s close relationship with the Vermont EOC (AAN1VR) goes back  to 1954 when he graduated from high school and obtained his amateur  license. At that time the state EOC was just seven miles from his home. Hams  tended to gather at the EOC to admire and occasionally operate its state-of­the-art radio gear. By the time Ray joined MARS in 1968, he was already a  busy participant in EOC activity, helping install and maintain state equipment  as well as operating it.

I mustn’t forget the Vermont National Guard. It has an active MARS  military station with much equipment installed by Machell, who was a member  of the National Guard, mostly in communications, for 33 years before his  retirement. 

Meanwhile, next door in New Hampshire, Northern New England Army  MARS actively supports AAN1MHT at Manchester Airport. State emergency  operations officer Fletcher Seagroves, AAM1ENN, and his Region 1  counterpart Marc Slater, AAM1RE, coordinate monthly TSA exercises on site.  And, when ice storms badly affected the state early last winter, MARS  members turned out to assist the NH OEM and local responders in relief  operations.

Now I’ll let Ray Machell tell you how all this jointness came about in his  own words: QUOTE

“This has been an ongoing project, advertising MARS, for 10 years or  more with all of these agencies, very slowly, no pushing. Sept 11^th helped by  interlinking all the agencies and making them get on the ball. 

“I got in the door by first working with them at the grassroots levels and  over the years worked my way up the ladder. Operating at that level one  meets the local and state staff and they see what you are doing and what you  are capable of doing. After a while, they will be doing a tabletop or exercise and guess who they ask to handle the communications training presentation. 

 “To approach and interact with any agency takes great patience. In spite  of what people think many state employees are very busy and doing the work  of three people. Communications is usually an additional task that has been  dumped on them, and most don't know one end of a radio from the antenna. 

“We have to educate them first, very slowly. Remember their primary job  is not communications, usually, and that is what generates their paycheck and  keeps food on the table. So it takes a very long time. 

“On Winlink I had a confirmation for probably one year that VTEOC would  do the paperwork and request call signs. After the usual delays, I took the  paperwork and with the assistance of Steve Waterman filled it out, took it  down and handed it to them. Even then it was another six months before it  was signed by the Commissioner and sent to HQ. I then had another three  months to work out the call sign system with VTEOC for something acceptable  to MARS.

“So, we must be very patient, keep our cool, assist them at every  opportunity, and persevere.” UNQUOTE.

Thank you, Ray. I realize your situation is an exceptional one, but even so  your success story is rich in useful pointers for anyone tasked with building  Jointness.  Yes it takes time, but more importantly it takes personal  commitment and building of personal relationships.  

Are we halfway there?

That’s a fair question to ask now that we’re midway between the Road  Ahead’s initial publication and the MARS 101 final test: Is the MARS 101 project  fully half completed at this point?

Well, if you define “there” as successful 100 per cent application of the  new interactive training model, I’d have to say I don’t think so--not yet. The  information coming my way indicates quite a few members apparently put off  participation and seem to be waiting for a second training cycle. 

That mindset disappoints me—we are going thru this effort to be ready for  the fast approaching Hurricane season and for other unforeseen emergencies  that will befall us By participating now, complying with my training requirements  now, you not only learn useful capabilities, you also establish a rapport with  those who are in fact complying/participating—they hear your voice, learn your  voice, learn about how well you can be relied upon to be there in practice, and  they may become familiar enough with you to trust and rely upon you when the  event happens.  

So YES, there will be a second MARS 101 cycle, but the teammates I and  you can depend upon to be ready in June 2009 are those who “Git-R-Dun” during  this first training cycle.  . 

I’ve also been told that trainers felt they weren’t given sufficient  preparation for the interactive program’s considerable demands. 

There definitely will be augmented guidance for trainers, too. They carry  the heaviest load in making a success not just of MARS 101 but the entire Road  Ahead commitment.  I’m grateful for their patience and persistence in this  ongoing transition to updated instruction techniques.

I send a big “thank you” also for the support of state and region staffs. I’ll  cite just a couple of examples of superb leadership that have come my way. In  Texas, the state web site displays a “MARS 101 Training Progress chart”  showing each member’s week-by-week participation. Looking even further  ahead, Florida has just published a cautionary list of members needing to  establish Winlink access as required in the Road Ahead program.

One measure of real achievement: MARS 101 demanded more from the  members and the instructors than any previous training. It landed on the system very suddenly, its impact uncomfortably comparable perhaps to what might be  the initial onslaught of some national disaster. MARS 101 upset familiar routines,  as a grave national emergency would have done. It made unforeseen demands  of the entire membership. The stress on the system has continued for weeks.  And yes, there was some confusion in execution as we rushed to finish this  project before the hurricane season.

I spoke earlier of the NIMS emphasis on Preparedness and  Communication. Let’s look at MARS 101 for a moment in those terms--as an  exercise, that is, an exercise in systemwide response to a national challenge of  some undefined but perilous character. This was not the Tiger Team’s intention,  nor was it mine—or was it?  The fact remains, a big challenge was thrown at the  whole of Army MARS, one that demanded swift response, a sustained response,  on a scale not previously attempted in any Army MARS exercise.  Most of the team adapted, most of the team responded, most of the team is meeting the  tough challenge, and most of the team will attain the goals I set forth.   IMPORTANT TO ME:  I know who  demonstrated to me that they will also  respond with energy, and the right mental attitude using the skills and knowledge  they will need to effectively meet the challenge during a real emergency!!     Remember the old adage: We must train as we must fight.  Now, do you see why  this training is important to you, your teammates and to me?

The longer view: The longer view: In that larger context I judge our  training cycle to be well more than just halfway “there.” Already it has provided  needed insight into Preparedness as it applies to MARS. We’ve got a far  better handle on the full dimensions of responding to the unforeseen, on a  national, system-wide level. If the experience shows a need for fine-tuning, is it  not much better to have discerned this in today’s training environment rather  than during an actual incident??  

 In that larger context I judge our training cycle to be well more than just  halfway “there.” Already it has provided needed insight into Preparedness as it  applies to MARS. We’ve got a far better handle on the full dimensions of  responding to the unforeseen. If the experience shows a need for fine-tuning, is  not it much better to have discerned this in today’s training environment rather  than during an actual incident!!   

 As for the NIMS focus on Communication, there’s an important lesson  here, too.  Think for a moment of MARS 101 homework as an exercise in  receiving vital operational information in a high-pressure situation. You have a  sense now, come to think of it, of what information flow might be like in a major  incident. So much to read and digest, to sort thru and prioritize and to act on. I  hope we all have a better understanding now of the effect of real-time information  load—you haven’t really seen information “overload” yet.

 So back to the question: Are we halfway there? From the tactical  viewpoint—that is, the standpoint of instructional effectiveness--I think the  answer is fairly clear: Leaders, trainers and members have some serious  buckling down to do over next the six weeks if we are to fulfill the promise of  MARS 101.  However, I’ll add that the “doers” have stepped up to the challenge so far admirably.  And, I’ll add that the leaders and most trainers have led and  adapted to process improvements admirably.

From the strategic viewpoint, the Army MARS organization has already  shown it can sustain a major, major challenge, and respond vigorously on a  continent-wide scale. That’s a dividend all the more gratifying to me, for it was  unplanned and unexpected – Or was it?   

To wrap things up a bit, I’ll borrow some words from a Tiger Team  member to Larry Nicholson, AAA9TC, our Army MARS Training Coordinator: 

Army MARS has now reached the crunch point in Stu's campaign: the  dreaded split in the road (ahead) where people schooled to follow  SOPs to the letter are suddenly being asked to make decisions not  covered by SOPs, or are being asked to adapt SOPs to their peculiar  situations.  

     You wouldn't believe the amount of time the Tiger Team has spent  trying to draw a reasonable boundary between too much SOP and not  enough of it in the 101 material—in other words, to leave space for  Initiative in the tool box of leadership. 

Army MARS Team: that is an insightful bit of thought about Preparedness  and Communications.  Need I add anything to that?  I think not.  

CONCLUSION  

I’ll be looking forward to meeting all who come to the Dayton  HAMVENTION from 15-18 May.  We’ll “communicate” and “prepare.”  

Army MARS is great organization.  But, now is the time for all of us to do  our parts to make Army MARS greater; to make Army MARS the preferred  service provider – the “go to – must have” team – for all of those “Agencies”  and “EOC’s” we can and must support.

Talk to you again 14-nights from tonight.  

Until then, TCAMO and Semper Gumby!

CAM Out