A recent trip with my family to Maryland ended up being more
than just a short vacation with the kids. As I walked the property that had
been in the family for 200+ years, I reflected on what it had taken to sustain
the farm during all that it had been through.
We could start with the Revolutionary War.
Then the Civil War.
Then the restructuring of the country.
Disaster upon disaster.
Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Pandemics.
It was all kind of unreal just thinking about all that my
family had been through and it made me think about how they had done it.
The reason why my family and their property had endured was
because despite some of the dysfunctional qualities of my family, they had
always worked together, recognized each other’s giftings and they had always
concentrated on what was for the best of everyone.
Not so with our present day emergency management system.
Over the course of the years one truth has been pretty
prevalent; many of those in emergency management and response positions are still
in it for themselves. The words “mutual
aid” too often refers to what you can bring ME, what you can do for ME and who
you can bring to ME. Rescues, deployments and response operations too often
become ego exhibitions where leadership from each group struts like a peacock
in front of the others attempting to be the one that wins “Most Valuable Player”.
While Craig Fugate shouts from every mountain top that
government needs to partner with the private sector, his messages never seem to
penetrate the minds or hearts of many.
It is unfortunate. We have at
this moment, one of the greatest leaders FEMA has ever seen attempting to
create the strongest response system we have ever seen, and yet while the
sermons are great, few respond at the altar calls.
An example of this would be the large regional agency that
recently told us that THEY were in charge of disaster preparedness for their
community and they did not appreciate us teaching about severe weather safety
in their local neighborhoods. This agency had no plan for this education, no
programming on the subject and no instructors on their payroll, but what they
did have was a deep-seated need to be the ONLY source for those they served.
How long will this farm last?
With everyone wanting to drive the tractor, who will stack
the hay?
Nobody.
The concept of public-private partnership is not new to this
country, it is just forgotten. The response agencies and emergency managers
that are living out their days as the “monarchs of emergency management and
response” need to be de-throned or re-programmed.
The emergency manager of today needs to recognize that
private sector organizations and teams have the manpower, budgets and
availability to respond like none other.
I do not believe that every group should be given the reigns
either. Private sector groups need to train alongside governmental agencies,
remain NIMS compliant and train like never before in the face of more years
that will resemble 2011.
While we face more threats than ever before, we need to
train together, talk together, plan together and work together. Not everyone can do everything.
We just need to grab hold of that old farm mentality that we
are all in this together.
The search is about that missing child, not you. That fire
is about the home of a family going through a terrifying event, that train derailment
is not your moment in the spotlight, it is you opportunity to BE the spotlight.
The disasters and searches where emergency managers,
response agencies and assisting organizations get into pissing matches are not
occurring in cities or towns; they are happening in our country and it is
Americans that need to respond.
Public and private entities need to start sharing the vision
of a stronger community and they need to take a proactive stance on disaster
preparedness, response, rehabilitation and recovery as well as prevention and
mitigation that is vital to improve the resilience of communities. Together.
