Emergency Management: Tough to Do, Tougher to Teach

2022-10-20T19:50:31+00:00

Emergency Management: Tough to Do, Tougher to  Teach by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed During the Great Depression, a young Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) interviewed for a teaching position in Texas. During his interview, when asked, “Is the world flat or round” – he replied, “I can teach it either way!” He was hired. It’s not easy for those that teach emergency management in the 21st Century. The integration of the four primary elements of emergency management - mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery already are tough but critical concepts for people immersed in day-to-day issues of government (or life) [...]

Emergency Management: Tough to Do, Tougher to Teach2022-10-20T19:50:31+00:00

“You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows…” (Bob Dylan.et al.)

2022-09-13T20:01:33+00:00

“You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows…” (Bob Dylan.et al.) by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed In this era of increasingly dangerous weather events, among the most dangerous are those slow-moving storm systems that pause over an area for an extended period before moving on or dissipating. It’s prudent to be alert to the potential for devastation and tragic consequences from such storms. Years ago, emergency managers developed a partnership with the National Weather Service (NWS), encouraging scientists to provide the earliest possible worst-case weather scenarios that might occur to aid us in preparing the public. A different [...]

“You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows…” (Bob Dylan.et al.)2022-09-13T20:01:33+00:00

Studying the Past, Confronting the Present, Shaping the Future

2022-07-26T19:20:16+00:00

Studying the Past, Confronting the Present, Shaping the Future by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The epidemic of mass shootings (defined as incidents where four or more persons are injured) in our country are emotionally draining tragedies for which thoughts and prayers are insufficient while rational solutions seem out of reach. Those who train and educate emergency managers and homeland security professionals pursuing certificates, degrees, or advanced education in emergency management must not avoid analyzing and discussing current, controversial public safety issues. But what we may or may not be teaching adults who are exploring the emergency management /homeland [...]

Studying the Past, Confronting the Present, Shaping the Future2022-07-26T19:20:16+00:00

Just in Time – June 2022

2022-06-21T23:14:27+00:00

Just in Time by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed For years, emergency managers have lamented the public’s tendency to delay the acquisition of essential supplies. Food and other daily necessities are typically not maintained beyond a brief time frame. That quick run to the store at 5pm is just one manifestation of this tendency. People put off preparing their wills as if they must see the end coming before they lock in the disposition of their assets. This is not a particularly new phenomenon. In fact, it’s a human reaction to put off for tomorrow what you could proactively [...]

Just in Time – June 20222022-06-21T23:14:27+00:00

Recovery in Advance – May 2022

2022-06-21T23:14:04+00:00

Recovery in Advance by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Emergency Management Once Removed periodically has cited the need for a systematic recovery process to enable appropriate and comprehensive restoration of the social equilibrium following a major or catastrophic disaster.    No matter how much assistance pours in after the fact, and no matter how long the attention span of the nation fixates on a region’s issues, it ultimately will be the advance planning and actions of the “home team” that determines if recovery and restoration meet community expectations. With your indulgence, I shall once more make the case I first [...]

Recovery in Advance – May 20222022-06-21T23:14:04+00:00

Musings in the 21st Century USA – April 2022

2022-04-13T19:49:01+00:00

Musings in the 21st Century USA by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The other day I was driving to the store on a narrow side street, headed downhill. A car headed up the hill toward me pulled between two other cars to let me pass. I simultaneously had pulled aside to let the other driver pass. We both paused, motioning for the other to proceed; finally, I waved and smiled and went first – I got a smile in return. I noticed a bumper sticker contrary to my own political beliefs as I passed that driver. I had no [...]

Musings in the 21st Century USA – April 20222022-04-13T19:49:01+00:00

TACTICS or STRATEGY? – March 2022

2022-03-11T00:32:26+00:00

TACTICS or STRATEGY? by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Tactics are knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.” Savielly Tartakower (professional chess player). While I lacked the patience or even the inclination to play chess, Tartakower’s observation struck a responsive chord when I stumbled upon it recently. Over the course of my career, I attended - mostly through compulsion – many formal strategic planning sessions/exercises/workshops. Now, they were not all bad, but most resembled exercises in “group write,” with attendees debating alternate phrasings of the [...]

TACTICS or STRATEGY? – March 20222022-03-11T00:32:26+00:00

History Should Matter to Emergency Managers – Feb 2022

2022-02-08T20:40:17+00:00

History Should  Matter to Emergency Managers By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed My recent blog entries, based mainly on my own "history" in emergency management and public safety roles, have warned that failure to acknowledge and prepare in advance for disruptions to foundational elements of our society could pose serious problems when an actual crisis occurs. Last year I observed, well before the fact, that the peaceful transfer of power, a symbol of our nation's unity (no matter how disappointing the outcome to the losing side), might be challenged violently by those espousing unfounded theories about the fairness of [...]

History Should Matter to Emergency Managers – Feb 20222022-02-08T20:40:17+00:00

1/6 – A Year Later – January 2022

2022-02-08T20:37:55+00:00

1/6 – A Year Later By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed January 6, 2022 Twenty years from now, historians will no doubt exhaustively parse the meaning of January 6, 2021’s insurrection, attempted coup, rebellion, the act of sedition (pick your descriptive term). In 2021, I offered my recollections/reactions on the 20th anniversary of two major events – the Nisqually Earthquake and the 9/11 attacks. I will go out on a limb (just a bit!) and suggest that in 2041 I probably will not write a piece remembering 1/6/21 (I’ll be 94 or hope to be!). It is way too [...]

1/6 – A Year Later – January 20222022-02-08T20:37:55+00:00

A Perverse Meritocracy

2021-12-15T18:58:06+00:00

A Perverse Meritocracy By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed A tsunami warning for the West Coast of the United States following the 2011 Sendai earthquake presented a  challenge in public messaging about the safety of our citizens because of false projections that toxic materials were en route to our coast. As Washington State‘s Emergency Management Division (EMD) director,  I  recommended that the state’s response be viewed credibly and headed by a state agency (Natural Resources or Health) that had relevant expertise and resources. My boss, the Adjutant General, took it to the Governor. He reported back that “EMD will [...]

A Perverse Meritocracy2021-12-15T18:58:06+00:00
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