ICP Communications Proceedures

[ZigZag911]

Proper training should bring the CULs & MROs to an appropriate understanding of the limits of their positions.

I started out in comm 30 some years ago, my first mission management posts were comm officer (which is what we called it back in The Dark Ages!)....now I'm an IC....the dual perspective actually helps training comm operators.

The problem I've observed is when someone qualified in another area (MO, GTL or branch director) decides to cross train in communications -- now you have someone who quite possibly actually has some answers to the questions coming in on the radio....they need to be trained to realize what their role is in communications, and, equally importantly, what it is not.

[IceNine]

OK so back to my original question, I like the IM idea but it needs to be thought out a little better.  Is there a program that can be used independent from the internet which will go down in a large enough incident.

For some reason I keep thinking that the local EMA is using something that came with Vista???

[arajca]

Once IMU and the appropriate database is downloaded, you don't need the internet unless you want to send information to remote locations. It may be possible, depending on how large your Ao is, to set up a wireless network to cover it.

[sardak]

OK so back to my original question, I like the IM idea but it needs to be thought out a little better.  Is there a program that can be used independent from the internet which will go down in a large enough incident.

For some reason I keep thinking that the local EMA is using something that came with Vista???

They might, but woe be to them.

The latest product that many agencies are using is WebEOC.  This can be used in local mode (LAN) or over the Internet to connect multiple sites.  Our county and state use it.  In this year's back-to-back blizzards, the state EOC (SEOC), many county EOCs and area command were all tied together using WebEOC.  I worked at both the SEOC (CAP and non-CAP roles) and the county EOC (non-CAP).  At the county, we operated  in local mode, but monitored the state system.  We could watch as other counties exchanged messages with the SEOC. 

As the CAP ALO at the SEOC, I was identified on the system as "CAP" and could receive and respond to taskings and questions directly through WebEOC, and provide status reports.  CAP mission base was not tied into the system though, so all my communications with base were via radio, cell phone and email.

WebEOC records all activity and can be used to complete reports and forms.  Both the county and state AARs used timelines taken directly from WebEOC.  The caveat of course, is that this technology still requires computers and electricity.

Link to WebEOC: http://www.esi911.com/esi/products/webeoc.shtml
Partial list of users: http://www.esi911.com/esi/clients/clients.shtml

This is from WebEOC's marketing brochure:
An average EOC responder can be trained in 5-10 minutes on WebEOC® and remember how to use it 6 months later.
They've obviously never worked with CAP.

Federal incident management teams deploy assuming no local infrastructure, and definitely no Internet distributed system.  They do however, set up LANs, not as a communications mean, but for input into reports, primarily the IAP.  Type I and II teams now deploy with at least one computer technical specialist (CSTP) whose first job is to set up computers and the LAN. CSTPs often rely on help from the comm unit leader (COML) and comm tech(s) (COMT) to set up the system.

As for internal comms, they use face-to-face, radios and the ubiquitous "General Message Form" ICS 213.  This is a 3-part NCR form - one copy for the originator, one for the receiver, and a copy back to the originator with the reply.  Voice comms and computer messaging are not acceptable substitutes, as there is no written record.  During the blizzards, 213s were used in both the state and county EOCs.

Mike

[Eclipse]

Yes, all comms should be logged - any system, however "handy" which circumvents messages or directives being passed between sections without central logging is going to bite you should there be a disagreement (or worse).

[Dustoff]

Yes, all comms should be logged - any system, however "handy" which circumvents messages or directives being passed between sections without central logging is going to bite you should there be a disagreement (or worse).

This includes ALL mission-related cell-phone communications!!

(I've NEVER seen this done)

Jim

[SJFedor]

OK so back to my original question, I like the IM idea but it needs to be thought out a little better.  Is there a program that can be used independent from the internet which will go down in a large enough incident.

For some reason I keep thinking that the local EMA is using something that came with Vista???

They might, but woe be to them.

The latest product that many agencies are using is WebEOC.  This can be used in local mode (LAN) or over the Internet to connect multiple sites.  Our county and state use it.  In this year's back-to-back blizzards, the state EOC (SEOC), many county EOCs and area command were all tied together using WebEOC.  I worked at both the SEOC (CAP and non-CAP roles) and the county EOC (non-CAP).  At the county, we operated  in local mode, but monitored the state system.  We could watch as other counties exchanged messages with the SEOC. 

As the CAP ALO at the SEOC, I was identified on the system as "CAP" and could receive and respond to taskings and questions directly through WebEOC, and provide status reports.  CAP mission base was not tied into the system though, so all my communications with base were via radio, cell phone and email.

WebEOC records all activity and can be used to complete reports and forms.  Both the county and state AARs used timelines taken directly from WebEOC.  The caveat of course, is that this technology still requires computers and electricity.

Link to WebEOC: http://www.esi911.com/esi/products/webeoc.shtml
Partial list of users: http://www.esi911.com/esi/clients/clients.shtml

This is from WebEOC's marketing brochure:
An average EOC responder can be trained in 5-10 minutes on WebEOC® and remember how to use it 6 months later.
They've obviously never worked with CAP.

Federal incident management teams deploy assuming no local infrastructure, and definitely no Internet distributed system.  They do however, set up LANs, not as a communications mean, but for input into reports, primarily the IAP.  Type I and II teams now deploy with at least one computer technical specialist (CSTP) whose first job is to set up computers and the LAN. CSTPs often rely on help from the comm unit leader (COML) and comm tech(s) (COMT) to set up the system.

As for internal comms, they use face-to-face, radios and the ubiquitous "General Message Form" ICS 213.  This is a 3-part NCR form - one copy for the originator, one for the receiver, and a copy back to the originator with the reply.  Voice comms and computer messaging are not acceptable substitutes, as there is no written record.  During the blizzards, 213s were used in both the state and county EOCs.

Mike

Super-BUMP!

I got to play with WebEOC yesterday at Tennessee EMA's State EOC, sitting at the CAP desk in the pit w/ one of our AL's. A really neat tool, does a lot of great work, and has a lot of neat features, some of which I didn't even get to play with!

[isuhawkeye]

web EOC is a great tool.  Iowa uses it to link all 99 counties

[mynetdude]

Folks, ideally this sort of system would be what we have but as I pointed out earlier, CAP just doesn't have enough people with the relatively basic computer skills to set something like this up.  Or maybe its just my Wing.....  Yes, I know it isn't that complicated but like it or not the majority of our senior members are barely competent at email.  Yes, their capabilities are being tested by how we're going as electronic as we have, but you need a dedicated computer guy available to set up and be available to fix problems in such a system while the mission is going on.  We need such a person anyway, but they seem to be few and far between...

I'm one who can do pretty much that, I setup the whole tabletop ICP for my squadron to simulate and ran it in LAN mode and I was impressed how well it ran. I'm going to make it even better someday