Norris is off to Winston-Salem NC this week for a conference on disaster communications interoperability. Interoperability is a buzz word in Homeland Security for making sure that the many different public service agencies that respond to a disaster can all talk to each other when they need to. One day of the week was set aside as a Communications Exercise that Norris will use to finish checking off the tasks he needed to demonstrate that he could do in order to get his FEMA certification as a Communications Leader. His task today involved a large simulated flood that grew larger as the day went on. As more and more mutual aid departments came to help, he had to set up new communications networks (both voice and data) that allowed everyone to interconnect when needed. The picture below shows some of the communications that were set up and operated as part of the exercise. The big black truck in the background actually belongs to the Cisco Corporation and is something they make available in disaster situations to provide data services and telephones communications over satellite links.
This picture was taken inside the Cisco truck. They spent a lot of money on gee-whiz stuff that doesn't end up in most of the communications vans or trailers owned by local governments (unless they get the really good federal grants!).
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