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It’s Dusk in America By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Consider this: “As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged.” William O Douglas Everything in our nation may seem “normal”. The Super Bowl happened. Pitchers and catchers will report for spring training. March Madness will arrive on schedule. Still, as the furor over impeachment fades in the background, there are emergency management and homeland security issues that can’t be ignored. The conflagration in Australia is just one more illustration of the threat climate change poses [...]

Government’s Trust Deficit: A Possible Antidote By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed It’s always challenging to affirm to Congress that public funds invested to improve individual and family preparedness are effective. I know, I’ve tried. Legislators have choices in authorizing and appropriating federal dollars. They are right to ask if emergency management is reaching its target populations with an effective preparedness message. Assurances emergency managers might provide Congress about the effectiveness of our programs are limited by government’s own narrow focus in assessing our nation’s readiness. One frequently missed opportunity is the failure to include citizens in exercises aimed [...]

The Problem with Disaster Exercises By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Emergency managers don’t conduct disaster exercises to show off, but to learn, then apply what we learned. That’s often made more difficult than it has to be. Factors that impede an exercise The senior elected official bails out” – sending a surrogate (ok, maybe something “important” comes up). Far too often, the absence is prompted by the fear that the “boss” might look indecisive, or inept in dealing with the scenario. That absence sends a message to other officials that they, too, can find something to “come up” [...]

Something I Learned in Grad School By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Attention emergency managers: aside from the noteworthy announcement that I learned anything in school, there may be something in the following upon which you might reflect. As I completed my bachelor’s degree in English at what was at that time Western Washington State College, a variety of personal circumstances led to my entry into the master’s program in student personnel administration, under the auspices of WWSC’s Department of Education. Merely deciding to choose an M. Ed over a Master’s in English was less difficult than actually gaining [...]

WTO and Y2K - The Story I Was Never Asked To Tell – Part 5 (Final): A Look Back By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Events that go well often result in less to describe or recall. WTO Recriminations: Despite, perhaps due, to the constraints we struggled against, the WTO riots enhanced Emergency Management’s standing across Seattle city government. My staff deserved praise and respect for their dedication, endurance and skillful performance, as did City agencies, including SPD personnel assigned to the EOC for eight stressful days and nights. Most Seattle police officers on the street, though let down [...]

WTO and Y2K - The Story I Was Never Asked To Tell – Part 4: Havoc in the Streets By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed As WTO approached, The Mayor’s Office became concerned about the contrast between the cheery outlook presented by SPD and the Mayor’s own staff and the "negativity" some of us were projecting. The Mayor asked what everyone thought were the chances of riots occurring. I said 80%: my senior planner chastised me afterward, saying there was a 100% chance. I said no one would have believed 100% - he replied, "They didn’t believe 80% either!" [...]

WTO and Y2K: The Story I Was Never Asked To Tell – Part 3: WTO “Planning” vs “Seminars in Crisis and Consequence Management” By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Whether in internal SPD meetings leading up to the WTO conference, or when the Mayor’s Office met with the SPD planning team, it was clearly SPD’s preference that OEM kept any concerns to itself. Instead, we did raise concerns, often at the behest of experienced line officers who had asked us to represent their belief that the demonstrations could take a more sinister direction. We argued that it was prudent [...]

WTO and Y2K: The Story I Was Never Asked To Tell – Part 1: WTO Planning By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed WTO 1999 Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) had only learned of the pending (November/December 1999) World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in March 1999. When "planning" did begin, it was clear that Emergency Management’s inclusion was tolerated rather than welcomed. This would be a Mayor’s Office, SPD and federal (FBI/Secret Service) "show" to manage. Suggestions that demonstrations could become violent, putting safety of citizens and visiting delegates at risk were dismissed. The failure to plan adequately for [...]