FORT SILL, Okla., June 9, 2016 -- When Steve Gluck shows the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) template he's developed for Fort Sill building managers, it's easy to see how many ways we could all die. But for every one of those potential events, Gluck has an EAP involving many different departments both on and off post.
However, one of the weakest links is at the level of the building where people work, train, and interact.
"Every building on the installation is required to have an occupant Emergency Action Plan," said Gluck, Fort Sill's emergency manager. However, of the 606 buildings that are supposed to have one, only 74 actually do, and 25 others are in the review process.
That's after Gluck has sent out four tasking orders since May 2014 to all of the installation's organizations to provide a building manager and develop the EAP. That came after a failed inspection item from the Joint Staff Integrated Vulnerability Assessment for not fulfilling that federal requirement. He said getting full compliance has been "the bane of my existence for the last two years."
"I look at this as a layer of protection of the installation," he said. "When you come through the gates that's a layer. When you enter a building or facility, that's a layer. There's an expectation that somebody has a plan to protect the occupants and visitors to that building."
However, during the April 29 tornado warning that affected Fort Sill, many people had no idea where they were supposed to go because there was no building EAP, there had been no drills, and there were no contingencies to help emergency responders figure how to help if necessary.
This is how the EAP is supposed to work: A building manager is designated for one or more buildings. That person attends the course that Gluck teaches, and fills out the detailed template Gluck has prepared to develop each building's emergency plan. After a review and acceptance, the final plan is distributed to each building occupant, periodic drills are conducted, and every person who works in the building knows where the evacuation rally points or shelter-in-place spots are, as well as lockdown procedures, depending on the incident.
The type of hazard determines the type of response. Airborne hazards, for instance, can be heavier than air, so sheltering in a basement wouldn't be a good idea in that case. Some facilities require Continuity of Operations, that also has to be part of the plan, said Gluck.
In addition, emergency responders have a copy of the EAP, which shows the building's floor plans, the number of occupants and where they work, the potential hazards (broken gas lines, water pipes, electrical wires). Think of the Alfred P. Murrah Building after the Oklahoma City bombing.
"When something happens to your building, between myself, the operations center, the fire department, the police department, public works, we all pull up your plan and look at a common set of information," said Gluck. "We know everything about your building. We can plan the response whether there's going to be casualties or survivors."
That can't happen if there is no EAP on file.
Buildings, such as Freedom Elementary, Snow Hall and the new Fires Fitness Center have internal mass notification panels with pre-programmed messages to send alerts throughout the building, and can allow the HVAC system to be cut off in the case of an airborne hazard.
Gluck has a map that shows the Giant Voice and tone alerts that cover the base, capable of warning anyone outdoors in the cantonment area. Warnings in the training areas are covered by radio via Range Operations.
His EAP template for building managers covers 11 different emergency events, and addresses preparedness, response, and recovery. Those templates help plan for active shooter, explosion or fire, hazardous materials, tornadoes, winter storm, thunderstorms (which include hail), bomb threats, suspicious package, hostage situation, wildfire and flooding.
Gluck points out that Fort Sill puts out many avenues of messaging to help people plan for emergencies, but few people pay attention. "Statistically," he said, "people don't take any personal preparedness responsibilities unless they have previously been impacted by an incident or a disaster, or it was in the news close to them. There's been a great complacency. When something goes down (they say) 'you never told me.' They don't take enough responsibility for personal safety."
When an event happens, the responding authority sets up an Incident Command Post to manage the situation. In events such as hurricanes, an ICP can be activated prior to landfall since the impacts can be foreseen.
The ICP process is also used for high profile events where a large number of people are vulnerable to weather, terrorism or accidents.
The post's Emergency Operations Center in McNair Hall, on the other hand, provides alerts, warnings, notifications, and communications through AtHoc, the Giant Voice and other means. It also provides coordination and support to the ICP as well as to provide for continuity of post operations.
Accountability drills are now a common part of severe weather events at Fort Sill. They come via email, phone text, or even a phone call from a supervisor.
The first two generally require a typed response.
Col. Glenn Waters, Fort Sill Garrison commander, said that last year's floods which took the life of a Soldier on post have made accountability a priority.
"Eighty percent of our Soldiers and all of our civilians live off post," he said. "We had people who lost their homes or were evacuated. An accountability drill is to make sure no one's hurt, no one needs anything, and none of the facilities on post are damaged."
People who are displaced from their homes can receive help to find shelters either in Lawton, or on post.
"We can stand up shelters if we need to for Soldiers and families. Sometimes if you know about it (a family in need) a lot of kindness will come out and you can start helping people."
Keeping pets safe is a problem, and sometimes people don't evacuate if it means leaving a pet behind. During last year's floods, finding shelters or motels that would take pets was difficult, said Waters. The post's IHG Hilton has some pet-friendly rooms, and if Rinehart Fitness Center opens as a shelter, that will also allow pets.
"A pet's part of the family," said Waters.
However, Honeycutt is generally the first shelter to open on post, and it is not pet-friendly.
Keeping Soldiers safe in training areas, or assuring safety of flight operations at Henry Post Army Airfield, is handled by a different department.
James Adams, superintendent of the Air Force Weather Station on Fort Sill, said, "We observe and forecast the weather focusing on safety of flight for air crews flying in and out of Henry Post." Training exercises also have weather-related "mission-limiting thresholds" that can cancel training.
His station provides advisory support in collaboration with forecasters at 26th Operational Weather Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, La. The Fort Sill station is one of the country's nine units of Headquarters, 3rd Weather Squadron at Fort Hood, Texas.
Staff here consists of three forecasters, Adams, and a maintenance technician, keeping an eye on operational weather from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and longer if needed. Their area of responsibility covers around 150 square miles, from Elgin to Indiahoma.
Using weather forecasts from the National Weather Service and other sources, they tailor the information to the local area.
"What would be a 'go' versus a 'no-go' to a unit flying UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) is not the same criteria for a unit firing artillery out on the ranges," he said.
The UAS would be affected by gusty winds at the surface or at flight elevation. Air defense artillery units firing rockets need to be able to see the target and are mission-limited by low clouds and fog. Extreme temperatures either way could not only affect equipment, it could adversely affect the Soldiers.
"We're here for people's safety and resource protection," said Adams. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure the decision makers on Fort Sill get the watches and warnings and information in a timely manner. But it's not always the way you would see it on television or how you would get it on an app on your iPhone."
Whether it's severe weather, terror attacks or other threats, there are people whose job it is to make sure the impacts are minimized. But even more, it's critical that personal preparedness isn't neglected, as the sources that have contributed to this series stated. Heed the warnings. Have a plan, stay safe.
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