Stephen - thank you for a great email. I could not agree more. I took these courses some time ago - they are free as well - and fairly easy. Folks understanding the basics of incident command and how that whole side of the world works - is very important.
We operate a Wireless ISP - and I gotta tell you - what we do has helped in many emergencies. Even our routers are all linux based ;-) If anyone is interested in learning a bit how they can utilize some very basic utilities to support their local law enforcement and CERT teams using very simple technology - we would love to have you down to our offices to give you an overview We are located in Washington Court House Ohio - smack dab in the middle of Cincy, Dayton and Columbus - so for many its an easy travel. When Haiti took a hit - without our skill set even the UN there was stuck trying to establish communications for YEARS when they saw what we put in place - they wanted our help… Anyhow - I could not agree more the FEMA courses are well worth taking - especially since they will give you a step up within the local EMA and CERT infrastructure On Apr 15, 2013, at 9:17 PM, Stephen Michael Kellat wrote: > For the sake of the Ohio community, it must be remembered that today's > hyperconnected world presents plenty of conundrums. When situations > erupt such as in Boston, pictures and video of tragedy travel fast. > This started with the First Gulf War in 1991 and has only accelerated in > pace since then with the number of communications connections increasing. > > The first thing to remember in an incident like this is that we're not > there. While the images feel so close and the emotions are quite real, > time and space separate us. Local law enforcement and civil contingency > personnel are responding to the situation as fast as they can. In any > search for a perpetrator of a heinous act, apprehension is not normally > immediate. > > It is quite human to seek answers. In the immediate aftermath of a > catastrophic event, answers might not necessarily be there to be found. > In an increasingly connected world where communications move faster and > faster, frustration happens easily when you see senselessness and try to > attribute sense to it. > > From outside an affected area, the first thing to do is to relieve > stresses on communications lines. If you have loved ones, wait to > call. Our *Plain Ol' Telephone System* end of contemporary > telecommunications does have capacity limits. If the American Red Cross > establishes Health & Welfare check-ins that then provides a rather > alternative channel to get back in touch. Cellular telephone networks > also have capacity limits and can collapse from overloading. If you get > an all-circuits-busy signal, leave it be for a time. > > It also has to be remembered outside an affected area that requests for > help flow outwards rather than uncoordinated offers of aid flowing > inward. The people on the ground closest to the incident know what is > wrong and where help is needed most. Second-guessing them and playing > arm-chair general from a distance causes harm rather than good. Local > first responders are in charge until they are relieved or pass the > responsibility on to higher command. > > **IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED** that members of the Ubuntu Ohio Local > Community Team take the time to pursue the FEMA Emergency Management > Institute's independent study course ["A Citizen's Guide to Disaster > Assistance"](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/courseOverview.aspx?code=IS-7) > to gain an appreciation of how disaster assistance functions in the > United States in general. Other courses are also available from the > FEMA Emergency Management Institute [to > pursue](http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.aspx?all=true) if members > are interested. > > In the meantime, keep the folks in Boston in your thoughts and prayers. > We continue to live in interesting times. > > > > > > > > {ALSO POSTED AT: > http://erielookingproductions.info/ubuntu/2013/04/34-considering-boston/} > > _______________________________________________ > Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-us-ohio > Post to : [email protected] > Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-us-ohio > More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp _______________________________________________ Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-us-ohio Post to : [email protected] Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-us-ohio More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
