Pima County RACES

In late May 2007 I spent two days of intensive training as a PIO operating in a JIC environment. A PIO is a Public Information Officer. I'm it for RACES. A JIC is a Joint Information Center. If you look at the the org chart for NIMS or ICS you see the PIO or the JIC directly below and to the side of the IC.

We learned that PIOs and the JIC are one of the top ten most important funding items of Homeland Securtiy. Think on that for awhile.

The seminar was presented by a private contractor, CRA. This proved valuable because they are a package of highly trained people from all over the country with wide experience, excellent communications skills and a finely honed presentation. Day one explained the JIC operation and what it does and practice in preparing and making media presentations before TV cameras.

Morning two was spent learning how a JIC is set up operationally. The afternoon was spent in a realistic exercise within a JIC environment handling a smallpox outbreak from Mexico of unknown origins. The exercise included gathering information, writing press releases and putting on a TV Press Conference with reporters and cameras from a local station.

It also included many other elements such as my Logistics group, Logistics performed all the tasks of supplying "stuff". Stuff ranged from communications links and office equipment to a hotel, security and janitorial services.

There were forty players representing a wide range of organizations and agencies across Southern Arizona. It was the first time many of them had worked together and it opened a lot of minds.

It took being a participant to fully grasp the import of this kind of organization. The first tendency is to think of yourselves as a news or message management organization. Finally you come to realize how important news is as a public safety element, informing the public of what is really happening in a timely fashion. Averting disaster is as important as managing one.

Why would RACES be important to a JIC? JICs are ad hoc by nature. They may have a permanent home on standby but it is a dark space until an emergency happens. They are electronic communications intensive. Radio is not the final choice but it might have to be the first choice depending on available facilities. RACES might very well be the only option in a start up event.

The field is where RACES has more of an opportunity to serve. Some PIOs may be in the field. Getting their information back to the JIC becomes critical. Our home units might be an avenue for relaying back to the JIC as well as the EOC.

One issue is security of information. (In fact JICs themselves are classified) JICs receive a lot of information that other sources don't. The EOC and the IC receive mainly official communications. JICs receive information well beyond those sources. It all has to be filtered and confirmed before it becomes available for public dissemination.

I believe we can play a role if we want to.