EOC maintains command, control during LORE

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tara A. Williamson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  The 18th Wing Command Post is the communication between the wing commanders and the Kadena community.

"We [at the command post] are responsible for getting the word out to the base," said Capt. Paul Gregory, 18th Wing Command Post deputy chief. "All declarations, such as alarms and tropical cyclone condition of readiness changes."

However, there are instances in which successful incident management operations depend on the involvement of multiple functional agencies and emergency responder disciplines.

Kadena's local operational readiness exercises are these instances requiring effective and efficient coordination across the spectrum of organizations and activities.

During these times, the command post will play host to the Emergency Operations Center. It will be set up as the headquarters for LORE and overall base communication.

"The EOC is used for communication and control and is designed around the function of the 18th Wing," said Lt. Col. James Greene, 18th Civil Engineer Squadron commander and EOC director during LORE Beverly High 12-1.

The EOC represents a core set of doctrines, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes that enables effective, efficient and collaborative incident management.

"When a typical EOC is stood up, roughly 15 emergency function representatives are available to present operations to Wing leadership," Greene said.

The EOC representatives provide a systematic, proactive approach to guide the 18th Wing to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment.

Overall, utilization of an EOC for all incidents, ranging from daily occurrences to incidents requiring a coordinated response, such as a LORE, is procedure at Kadena Air Base, Japan.