Sept. 11th Memories

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.  Many have shared their memories of that day.  Here's mine:

I was sleeping in.  Mom was in the front room, but she didn't have the TV on.  She was probably reading.  The phone rang, and that's what woke me up.

The call was from one of Mom's friends.  Most of the times when this particular friend called, Mom would talk to her for a long time.  But Mom soon hung up and turned on the TV.  A few moments later, she came to my room to tell me that I needed to see what was on TV.

At that time, only the first plane had struck.  Most of the speculation then was that this was an accident.  But when the second plane hit, we all knew this was probably a deliberate act.

The collapse of the towers stunned me.  I'm not sure what I felt at that time, but I do remember thinking about all the live that would be lost.  I knew it would be in the thousands.

We watched the coverage for several hours.  I believe after a couple of hours the government confirmed that this was a terrorist attack.

That afternoon, when I went to the post office to get the mail, traffic was unusually heavy for the small town I live in.  The gas pumps at both convenience stores were busy.  Police were also quite visible.

When I heard that terrorists were behind the attack, I immediately thought of Saddam Hussein.  Being that he was a dictator, and had control of not only the Iraqi Air Force, but also Iraqi airlines, I thought he would have the knowledge to think up the plan for this attack.  As it turns out, Al Qaeda was behind the attack.

In all that has happened since then, I know that mistakes were made in our efforts to combat terrorism, but we must be doing something right, because we have not had another attack on that same scale.

Storm Warnings and the Public- Revisited

Once again this country has seen a major tornado outbreak, with lives lost, many injuries, and millions (possibly over a billion) dollars worth of property damage. Many people have posted their feelings, and even though I haven't yet shared mine, I do feel the same sadness that others feel.

Because of the high number of deaths, I wouldn't be surprised if the government conducts a study on why so many peopled died. If they don't, they should.

I'm sure that once again warnings would become a major issue. I've posted on this before:

Storm Warnings and the Public

Storm Warnings Revisited - Someone Must Have Listened

I'm not going to rehash those comments here. I don't think I would change much of what I've already said. But I have new thoughts on the issue.

The NWS constantly seeks to improve and to increase the lead time of its warnings. That doesn't need to change, but even with tight budgets, those efforts should receive the most funding we can afford. I believe that the approach to educating the public about watches and warnings does need to change.

I have noticed that several states will have a Severe Weather Awareness Week in conjunction with the NWS. I believe that we need a national campaign as well, to reinforce the state and regional efforts, and to get the attention of more of the general public. I'm not sure if we need a long campaign every year, but a week-long campaign once every 3 - 4 years, with short campaigns of 3 days every year in-between would go a long way towards making the public more aware of the need to keep an eye out for weather hazards. These campaigns need to target schools as well as the general public.

In addition, the way watches and warnings are described need to change. People need to know that warnings are ACTION statements - that if you are in an area named in a warning, you need to do something to ensure your own safety, and the safety of family, friends, co-workers, etc. Watches are only ADVISORY statements - that the NWS sees that severe weather is possible in the watch area, and you should monitor the media for warnings, or keep an eye open for threatening conditions at your location.

So far, the Awareness campaigns I have seen have been conducted by state authorities and local NWS offices. The only time I see a non-government entity involved in a campaign, is when McDonalds does their McReady program, or a local radio or TV station puts on a campaign targeted at their audience. This doesn't mean that non-governmental organizations don't conduct any campaigns, it's just that I don't know of any. I know the American Red Cross publishes booklets and pamphlets about severe weather, but I don't know if they have an organized effort to promote severe weather awareness. A campaign involving NGO's, such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, ham radio clubs, neighborhood or homeowners associations, etc., could have a bigger impact because the public might see these people as ordinary people and not as bureaucrats and politicians that want to tell people what to do.

I'm not sure of what else could be or should be done. But I do know that we do need to do something different. Too many people are dying needlessly.

Tulsa Amateur Radio Repeater Club Organization?

I have received several emails the past couple of days concerning rumors of a merger between the two major ham radio clubs in Tulsa - the Tulsa Amateur Radio Club, and the Tulsa Repeater Organization. No official talks are going on, yet, but some of the responses seem to favor the idea.

I have seen and heard people express a desire for a merger before. I can see why people would like to see it happen. When I became a ham back in 1997, a lot of friction and competition existed between the clubs, despite a large number of people belonging to both. Over the years, the clubs have cooperated more and more. It started with the clubs combining efforts on the Skywarn program. The response to Hurricane Katrina also brought increased cooperation between the clubs. The last few years have seen combined Field Day operations. With clubs struggling all across the country to keep members, they can't afford to waste their efforts. I believe Abraham Lincoln said that you can't build yourself up by tearing someone else down. Combined efforts accomplish more.

I too, would like to see a merger. But I have my doubts.

The clubs have different structures and attitudes, for starters. Then they would face issues of what to do with club repeaters and other equipment, callsigns, websites, newsletters, how much for club dues, etc. Working out all these details will take time to come to a solution everyone will be satisfied with, that is, if the clubs are to do a merger of their structures. Alternative approaches would be to hammer out a new structure, or for one club to fold and donate all its resources to the other. Hmmm, lots to think about... (chin-rubbing emoticon would go here if I could post one)

I do have one suggestion for now. Base the structure on the principles of the Incident Command System. The ICS is a proven organizational tool. We don't have to have the same structure as ICS, just use the same principles the ICS is based on.