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- Bid : $RACESBUL.275
-
-
- TO: ALL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES VIA AMATEUR RADIO
- INFO: ALL RACES OPERATORS IN CA (ALLCA: OFFICIAL)
- ALL AMATEURS U.S. (@ USA: INFORMATION)
- FROM: CA STATE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES (W6HIR @ WA6NWE.CA)
- 2800 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA 95832 (916)262-1600
- Landline BBS open to all: (916) 262-1657
- RACESBUL.275 DATE: May 24, 1993
- SUBJECT: MGT - Follow the chain of command
- RACES Radio Officers, volunteer or paid, are part of the
- management in the agency for which they serve. In that role it's
- proper for them to network and coordinate with their counterparts
- in neighboring jurisdictions. This helps when one jurisdiction
- needs help and resources from another jurisdiction to support an
- incident.
- However, here is where Radio Officers must be careful. It is
- a natural tendency to contact the other jurisdiction's Radio
- Officer and bypass his or her agency coordinator. This could
- cause irreparable damage by cutting an official out of the loop.
- Some may consider such an act as tantamount to "stealing" the
- jurisdiction's resources without their knowledge. Making sure
- your Radio Officer understands the proper procedure for inter-
- jurisdictional contacts avoids such a faux pas from affecting
- your RACES program.
- During a major incident, a county RACES officer tried to
- reach an adjoining county Radio Officer without success. When
- asked if he had contacted that county's disaster director, he
- admitted he had not. The mutual aid might have been forthcoming
- if the chain of command had been followed.
- In another incident the Radio Officer bypassed the agency
- official, went direct to the other Radio Officer and stirred up a
- hornets nest in the process when the authorizing official
- discovered his RACES unit was involved without his knowledge.
- While situations vary, and events change, it seems wise to be
- sure your Radio Officer understands your policies and procedures.
-
- EOM
-