Emergency Services...911 Style?

[SARMedTech]

This is a question aimed at those of you out there whose squadrons "specialize" in ES AND have a community Emergency Management System that knows about it. What do you think would be the pros and cons (if your squadron has a permanent home with its own telephone number) of as often as possible having someone man that phone round the clock. I mean could it be at all effective for someone to dial the local CAP squadron and here "Civil Air Patrol, BFE Squadron, Emergency Services, Lt. Smith"?  Is this even doable or does it violate the protocol of emergencies being relayed through AFRCC or (dont be afraid of huring my feelings) is it just a stupid question based on a rookie understanding of how things work? Please discuss.

[IceNine]

We have that to an extent there is an alerting officer for the wing who is to be the contact point for all incoming missions.  As we can only operate on 3 approvals (AFRCC, NOC, 911T/Wing CC) there is really no reason to have this kind of system.  Reason being that even if they do call all you can do is direct them to request us as a federal asset through AFRCC (which they probably won't do) or call the NOC.  So really you can accomplish the same idea by putting the NOC's phone number on a card for select agency officials.  Good idea though

[SARMedTech]

I guess what I was sort of thinking is that I have read Officers posting about the fact that they were out on an operation before even being call by the AFRCC. The sort of situation that was going on in my head when I asked that question was someone calling the local airport when their family member doesnt return home from a flight several hours after they were scheduled to land, and that family member calling the local airport, getting transferred to the CAP officer on duty and that officer contacting Maxwell. As I say, at this point in my CAP involvement I just do what Im told, so.....

[DeputyDog]

The sort of situation that was going on in my head when I asked that question was someone calling the local airport when their family member doesnt return home from a flight several hours after they were scheduled to land, and that family member calling the local airport, getting transferred to the CAP officer on duty and that officer contacting Maxwell. As I say, at this point in my CAP involvement I just do what Im told, so.....

It is just as easy for someone to call AFRCC or CAP-NOC directly. They perform the 24/7 hour assistance function for mission activations.

As far as someone manning phones at the local squadron, how often does a typical squadron receive "calls for service"? Would it be reasonable for a squadron to man a telephone around the clock with volunteers for one or two calls a month (variable)? That is what the unit alerting officer is for (getting the 0300 HRS call from AFRCC: Your mission, if you choose to accept it...).

[SARMedTech]

These are absolutely the kinds of answers I was hoping to get. But I wonder if youre talking about a private citizen (ie non-CAP) trying to call Maxwell and get the AFRCC duty officer on the phone. First, how many people without an association of some kind with the AF would know to do that in a month of sundays. Secondly, how far into the conversation about "My spouse is a pilot and has been missing for six hours" would the average citizen get with the duty officer at Maxwell. Now if you were taking about someone calling them directly and that someone being CAP, thats a different story. But as an example, when I lived in New Mexico, I saw a private plane go down in the Jemez Mountains while I was driving up I-25. I called 911 on my cell phone, they sort of gave me the we'll send someone out there speech and advised that perhaps I should call Kirtland AFB and gave me the number. I called, got a duty officer and got a very angry sounding what do you expect us to do about it kind of spiel. This was before I had any knowledge of what CAP was or what it does, etc. I have no idea of the outcome of that crash.

[DeputyDog]

These are absolutely the kinds of answers I was hoping to get. But I wonder if youre talking about a private citizen (ie non-CAP) trying to call Maxwell and get the AFRCC duty officer on the phone.

No. When a private citizen sees a plane go down, they call 911. AFRCC is either at Tyndall or is in the process of moving from Langley to Tyndall.

Secondly, how far into the conversation about "My spouse is a pilot and has been missing for six hours" would the average citizen get with the duty officer at Maxwell.

Aren't flight plans required? I would imagine someone would be working the overdue aircraft as soon as the plan indicated it was overdue (by not being closed). I would imagine that a spouse would know who to call to report it if not.

edit: I've only done missing aircraft searches on aircraft that were flying IFR. After a little research, I've found that flight plans aren't required for VFR (unless crossing national boundaries). The More You Know....

Now if you were taking about someone calling them directly and that someone being CAP, thats a different story. But as an example, when I lived in New Mexico, I saw a private plane go down in the Jemez Mountains while I was driving up I-25. I called 911 on my cell phone, they sort of gave me the we'll send someone out there speech and advised that perhaps I should call Kirtland AFB and gave me the number.

That shouldn't have happened. Sounds like a poorly trained dispatcher or a lazy one (I'm a dispatcher). We have reference and notification lists for different types of emergencies.

None of those say anything like...."You should call the Air Force...".

We do have the local airport tower listed for those kind of reports (we make the call, not the citizen).

[SARMedTech]

I meant that the NM State Police said "maybe you should call the Air Force" which sort of translated through tone as "what the &*^% would you like me to do about it?" Im a certified emergency medical dispatcher and that kind of response to a caller would have gotten me booted out of my seat by my supervisor and I did know AFRCC was at Langley...got my wires crossed in the early morning hours staring bleary eyed at my lap top.

[DeputyDog]

I meant that the NM State Police said "maybe you should call the Air Force" which sort of translated through tone as "what the &*^% would you like me to do about it?".

I understood that. 

The call taker was probably a supervisor covering for a regular dispatcher on break...

[floridacyclist]

When I talk to people who might want to call us (for example, the local SO SAR Officer) I tell him to go through the State Warning Point at the EOC. You probably have a similar concept at your state EOC.

You have given me an idea though....I think I'm going to forward the squadron's phone to my cellphone. This won't be for emergencies so much as for recruiting. Rather than getting a recording, they can get a real human.

[SARMedTech]

Thats a good idea. It took me a while to get a live human and it sort of soured me on the idea of CAP membership for awhile, but I have recovered and am quite pleased that I finally got to talk to someone and get involved.

[sarmed1]

I used to belong to a squadron in PA that was listed as the primary SAR unit for the county.  This was back in the days of the 911T mission approval.  The county 911 comm center called the squadron commander or the deputy if there was  a SAR/CAP related emerency in the county or if another county called them looking for SAR assets.  The squadron commander in turn alerted the squadron (via numeric pager) and then called the wing weenie for 911T mission approval pending an AF approval. 

[JohnKachenmeister]

No (For the benefit of Deputy Dog) flight plans are not required if the person is flying under Visual Flight Rules.  They are a good idea on a cross-country flight, but not required. 

A family member can call any FAA facility, especially if the know the tail number of the missing person's aircraft.  They can check back to even see if he called a flight briefer for weather.  Sometimes, based on what a pilot asks for in a briefing, the FAA can figure out where he might be.

The FAA actually does a lot of "Searching" before AFRCC even gets called.  For example, a pilot calls the briefer and asks for weather and NOTAMS at two airports.  One is his origin airport, the other his likely destination.  The FAA will call the tower or FBO and ask if he's landed there.

Once I flew from WPAFB to Toledo after a commissary run.  The wind was WAY stronger than predicted, and I figured my initial fuel calculations were now works of fiction.  I landed at Findlay, OH and took on 10 extra gallons, then took off for Toledo.

The wind and the fuel stop put me WAY behind my flight plan arrival projection, and when I was on final the FAA was calling looking for me. 

[RiverAux]

Boy, if you thought the Maytag Repairman was lonely, try being the guy manning the phones at a typical CAP squadron....

No need to confuse the people...if they have an emergency they need to call 911 and hopefully the local CAPers have told them how to request CAP assistance and they work it that way. 

[JohnKachenmeister]

When I was stationed in Detroit, I saw a huge billboard on I-94:

Illiterate?

Need Help?

Call 313-XXX-XXXX Today

Illiteracy Hotline Manned 24-hours-a-day.


Now THAT'S lonely!

[isuhawkeye]

in my experience it is best to market, and funnel all ES requests through 1 call center.  In our case it's Iowa Emergency Management.  Under the MOU they are the requesting point for AFRCC, and AFNSEP. 

This way you can give out a single number for all Operational requests. 

Build up that relationship and you will GE the calls well before AFRCC.  You can start to alert your people while RCC is processing the request, and you can improve your out the door times. 

[Flying Pig]

Sounds like a good concept, but in reality it would really be a waste of time.  The public is not going to use CAP as their first point of contact, nor should they.  Although its really neat to have the mental image of CAP members at the ready, sprinting out to their 182's like fighter pilots on alert and all. 

How many SAR's do you think would be launched after the FAA had already contacted the pilot by cell phone?  Dont think it doesnt happen!  Its happened to me as a law enforcement air crew before.  People call 911, we make some calls to the family and off we go.  Only to be notified 30 minutes into the flight that the guy is home and nobody remembered to call the Sheriff.

[IceNine]

Again I like the idea but, the unfortunate reality of the whole situation is that when the adrenaline gets pumping mistakes get made. 

So you get a call for a missing 3 year old girl, you spool up your team and forget to tell NOC.  What does that mean? it means you are operating as a rogue and have no insurance, and will probably be removed from the program, and there is a strong potential that you could have serious legal action taken against you and lose the life you know all for a simple Ooops. 

I personally am not willing to take on that burden, because there is a program in place to deal with this for us.

[sardak]

We've had wing alert officers and individual members called directly by citizens, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, airport operators, other CAP members, etc. regarding crashed or overdue aircraft.  Alert officers (AO) generally take the information and tell the caller that we can't self-dispatch, so depending on the nature of the call, the caller's status and credibility, they are told to call 911, the FAA or AFRCC.  But AOs will also call AFRCC directly to give them a heads up, and in some cases RCC will assign a mission number immediately.  There are liability and jurisdictional issues to consider, so each case is different.

Other CAP members may have the caller call the AO, the member will call the AO, or sometimes the member will call AFRCC.  Then the AO gets a call from RCC wanting to know what's going on.

We aren't responsible for missing person searches, so those callers are told to call 911.

The wing does not have a phone that's answered 24 hours, but the AOs are on pagers, which of course, go off at all hours of the day and night.

AFRCC is either at Tyndall or is in the process of moving from Langley to Tyndall.

AFRCC completed the move to Tyndall in the spring.  They are located in the new Air and Space Operations Center which was formally opened on June 1.  Here is a link to the opening ceremonies with pictures.  The RCC controllers are located in a couple of rows near the front.

http://www.1af.acc.af.mil/media/archive/story.asp?id=123055686&page=1

Mike

[SARPilotNY]

Our AOs are on pagers and have a 24 hour shift.  Great when they remember to keep the pager next to the bed and off vib at night.

[SARMedTech]

I meant that the NM State Police said "maybe you should call the Air Force" which sort of translated through tone as "what the &*^% would you like me to do about it?".

I understood that. 

The call taker was probably a supervisor covering for a regular dispatcher on break...

Deputy-

As you and I both know, you cant trust a supervisor farther than you can thrown them.  Being one myself I can attest to this.