Ready Army Launches at Fort Sam

By Jeff CrawleySeptember 4, 2008

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - Ready Army, an emergency preparedness campaign, is under way and aimed at Soldiers, their families, Army civilians and contractors to prepare them for all hazards and to encourage them to - Get a kit. Make a plan. Be informed.

The Armywide campaign expands upon the national Ready campaign from the Department of Homeland Security.

"Ready Army is tailored for military families," said Brad Barrett, Fort Sam Houston Garrison emergency manager and coordinator for the campaign. "There is additional information about how Family members can take care of themselves when a member is deployed or when they're moving into a new location about the hazards there."

Ready Army materials such as emergency preparedness fact sheets, family emergency plan guides, emergency kit checklists, parent/teacher guides, children's material, posters, public service announcements and brochures are available through Army Knowledge Online at https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/464795. People who cannot access AKO can get emergency preparedness information at www.ready.gov.

Ready Army brochures will be available at the Post Exchange; posters will be displayed in high-traffic areas and preparedness information will be incorporated into newcomer's orientations and staff briefings, Barrett said.

Materials will also be distributed to children in the Fort Sam Houston Independent School district.

"There are bookmarks, magnets, little games, those sorts of things," Barrett said.

Barrett said that Hurricane Gustav was an incredible reminder that communities need to be ever vigilant of disasters.

"The intent of Ready Army is to sustain preparedness year-round," he said. "As we move into different seasons and as people move around, there are different hazards."