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Renovations aid in crisis management

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christopher Reel
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Tyndall Command Center is currently undergoing renovations to house both the Crisis Action Team and the Emergency Operations Center under one roof and should be complete this June.

"This move allows us to have an EOC and CAT that is at least minimal manning 100 percent of the time," said Lt. Col. Brian Stumpe, 325th Civil Engineer Squadron commander and EOC director. "Previously, we shared space with a classroom, and the equipment could not remain in an operational status."

The two units are the base commander's support elements that provide assistance when an incident or crisis may occur, such as hurricane preparation measures, or has already impacted the installation. The common goal for both the CAT and EOC is to provide the incident commander with whatever he or she needs to mitigate the incident and get Tyndall back to operational status as quickly as possible.

"Key actions that occur in concert with the CAT and EOC in support of a response are gaining and maintaining situational awareness, activating and deploying resources and capabilities, and coordinating response actions," said Marty Spikes, 325th CES chief of readiness and emergency management and EOC manager. "Key principles in recovery are: assisting individuals; providing public health and safety services; restoring utilities; reopening roads; providing food and shelter; and mission continuation."

But, they each serve their unique missions as well.

"The EOC is the physical location where coordination of information and resources occurs to support a response, and where incident management activities take place," said Stumpe. "It provides the command and control support elements that directs, monitors and supports Tyndall's actions before, during and after an incident. The EOC is activated and recalled as necessary by the wing commander, myself or the incident commander."

The EOC also updates the CAT with ongoing incident statuses and seeks support from the CAT when on-scene requirements surpass inherent capability, explained Stumpe.

The CAT is comprised of designated officials capable of devoting full-time attention to how the crisis affects mission execution.

"The CAT is intended to focus on the mission execution and not the management of the incident," Spikes added. "The CAT ensures mission continuation during the incident, whereas the EOC provides support to help the incident commander mitigate the event."

Upon completion of the renovation, the EOC and CAT will be able to work in concert behind the same closed doors.

"I would like to thank the Tyndall Command Center for giving up space allowing the EOC to move under the same roof as the CAT," Stumpe said. "Also, I would like to thank the great men and women of the 325th Civil Engineer Squadron who made this all possible."