Airmen help Trinidadian officials build disaster plan

by Staff Sgt. Vanessa Young
Defense Media Activity-San Antonio

7/20/2010 - PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (AFNS) -- A military medical team is helping Trinidadian officials develop more comprehensive disaster plans, and also providing them the forum to coordinate their plans with other local agencies here July 20.

Each agency represented at the Disaster Planning and Mass Casualty Response course has a disaster plan.

"Now, the goal is for them to talk to each other, and take all of these plans and put them into one comprehensive plan," said Staff Sgt. Abraham Rodriguez, the NCO in charge for the Defense Institute of Medical Operations at Brooks City-Base, Texas.

For Christina Siew, a health and safety officer with Trinidad and Tobago's Northwest Regional Health Authority, having these different agencies in one room is helping her revise her current disaster plan.

"Everyone in one room is helping, because within the reviewing process, we need to get stakeholders to give us the additional assistance required," she said. "We don't have police, and we don't have transport -- we have them in our plan mentally, but with them here, they can work through issues."

Some of the potential natural disasters to Trinidad and Tobago include flooding, landslides and earthquakes. With these potential disasters in mind, the instructors create scenarios for the officials to practice and discuss their plans.

"We give them the scenarios and ask them what kind of resources or manpower is needed," Sergeant Rodriguez said. "If we identify that fire department services are needed, we ask the individual in the classroom what his agency brings to the table. This way, all of the agencies are on the same page on what is needed."

"It also helps that officials from different echelons of these agencies are here to discuss these issues," he said. "This way, the people at the work stations, such as the fire department, have the opportunity to justify to those higher officials why they need what resources, if a disaster occurred."

"I hope to get a better understanding of disaster preparedness," Ms. Siew said. "Right now, we just have the basics. The material (the DIMO team) provided is more in-depth, which will help us better prepare a final document."