WYOMING WING CIVIL AIR PATROL

United States Air Force Auxiliary

P.O. Box 9507

Cheyenne, WY 82003-9507

WY0MINGWING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN 2015

Part I – Crisis Team Members:

Spokesperson (s)

Maj. Toni C. Brown, WYWG Public Affairs Officer

Col. H. Kenneth Johnston, WYWG Commander

  • All media information requests will go through PAO or CC. Members are encouraged

not to speak with the media without first speaking with the PAO or CC.

  • Report to the Incident Commander (IC), Wing Commander (CC)

Command or Media Center Coordination:

Maj. Toni C. Brown, WYWG Public Affairs Officer

Col. H. Kenneth Johnston, WYWG Commander

  • Arrange and Coordinate areas for Press Conferences, Media Staging Areas andSecurity
  • Report to IC, CC

Community Groups/ Support Liaison:

Maj. Toni C. Brown, WYWG Public Affairs Officer

Col. H. Kenneth Johnston, WYWG Commander

  • Coordinate with other community groups’ information personnel involved in the crisis for unified message (not involved in crisis command)
  • Report to PAO, CC

Government/Military Support Liaison:

Deidre Forester, Public Affairs Officer Wyoming National Guard

  • Provide expertise, support and contacts, additional personnel
  • Does not report to CAP, but coordinates messages with CAP Incident Commander through the PAO or CC – no information released without IC approval

Civil Air Patrol Support:

Julie Debardalaben, CAP NHQ/PA

  • Provides ‘message support, press kits, on-site support
  • Does not report to local CAP, but coordinates messages with local PAO or CC – no information to be released without IC approval

Media Coverage Collector:

Maj. Toni C. Brown, WYWG Public Affairs Officer

Col. H. Kenneth Johnston, WYWG Commander

  • Monitor media for mention of event and/or CAP
  • Check accuracy of articles and broadcasts and report inaccuracies to PAO
  • Reports to PAO or CC

Press Release and Speech Writer(s):

Maj. Toni C. Brown, WYWG Public Affairs Officer

Col. H. Kenneth Johnston, WYWG Commander

  • Prepare all messages for release to media, the public and CAP members
  • Report to IC

Scenario Planner:

Assigned as needed

  • Anticipate and plan for likely situations and procedures for handling each
  • Report to IC; coordinate with PAO or CC

Team Training Coordinator(s):

Maj. Toni C. Brown, WYWG Public Affairs Officer

Col. H. Kenneth Johnston, WYWG Commander

  • Prepare personnel for crisis situation; train members to handle media
  • Report to IC

Part II – Command/Media Center Locations:

Primary Crisis Center/Media Center - Wyoming Wing Headquarters, FE Warren AFB, 6211 Randall Ave., Bldg. 233, Cheyenne, WY 820005

Secondary Crisis/Media Center - Wyoming Army Guard, 5500 Bishop Blvd. Cheyenne, WY 82009

Alternate Crisis/Media Center – Atlantic Aviation, 7956 Fuller St., Natrona County International Airport,

Casper, WY 82604

Part III –Crisis Contact List:

Mary Waterstreet, WYWG IO

  • Phone numbers: 307-773-4405
  • Email:

Col. H. Kenneth Johnston

  • Phone numbers: 307-322-8169 cell
  • Email: -

Deidre Forester, Public Affairs Officer Wyoming National Guard

  • 307-772-5253 office
    307-631-4153 cell
    307-772-5132 fax
    388-5253 DSN

Part IV - Potential Crisis Situations:

Blizzard:

Fact gathering, situation evaluation and response is the responsibility of the Incident Commander (IC) and the Incident Command Staff (ICS). IC and ICS will coordinate response teams (air and ground search crews, etc.). All relevant information and data will be directed to ICS. Staff maywork from a Crisis Command Center or Alternative Sites, including their homes. Initial and follow-up press releases will be prepared by the Public Information Officer (PIO) or the Public Affairs Officer (PAO), but must be approved by the IC. All personnel must be prepared for loss of communications. Radios should be used in case of phone outage. Some instances may even require messengers. The IC will likely be working with the local authorities and receiving tasking from them. Location of the ICS, staging areas and deployment of members may depend heavily on locations impacted by emergency and the ability to travel in and through the affected areas.

Flood:

Similar to above.Possible additional duties: Assist local agencies with flood control (i.e. sand bag placement), help relocate people to shelters, assist with logistics at shelters, and provide photos from aircraft about severity and extent of flooding

Wild Land Fire:

Similar to the blizzard and flood scenarios, except no sandbagging and photos may be of the fire area.

Terrorism/Homeland Security Event:

Initial fact gathering and incident evaluation will most likely be done by U.S. Homeland

Security, AFRCC and/or Wyoming Homeland Security. Tasking likely will also come

from one of these agencies. Command location will depend on the location of the situation and the needs of the responsible agency. CAP could assist with tasks as needed. Media releases will need to be approved by the PIO of the agency in charge of the situation.

Missing Pilot or other Person:

Activation of the ICS –WING and Squadron members assist as their qualifications dictate. Media releases will occur only upon permission of the IC and/or PIO

Part V - Crisis Kit Assembly

Crisis Response Binder

•Crisis communications team contact/role list

•Command/media center location list

•Complete crisis contact list

•Crisis scenarios and action plans for responses

•Pre-printed press releases

•Pre-printed signage for media staging (include "off limits")

•Press Kits

•Complete local unit, wing, region member list

•CD with all documents in electronic form

•Resumes and bios of key players on IC staff

•CAP Fact Sheet

•List of speaking/talking points, including sample bridging phrases

•Copy of ESF 15 function

•Copy of NRP (National Response Plan?)

•Copy of CAPP 190-1

Crisis Supplies

•Legal pads and sticky notes

•Binder clips, stapler and staples, pens, pencils, markers, dry erase markers

•Local, state and city maps

•Air charts

•Letterhead

•Two-way radio

•Flashlights

•Laptop computers, printer, extra ink cartridges, paper

•Flash drives

•Cell phone - dedicated for IO use (Bluetooth headset)

•Distinctive tactical vest labels "MIO"

•Power supply and adapters for peripherals, cables

•Various batteries

•Multi-drive for camera memory sticks, SD and flash memories

•Blackberry device

•Camera

•First Aid Kit

•Snacks, MREs, power bars

•Bottled water

•Paper ware - cups, plates, utensils, etc.

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Part VI - Media Contacts

Air Force Association Media Guide

  • This site provides a format for uploading press releases and broadcasting them to twenty-five plus media outlets throughout Wyoming.

Part VII - Potential Talking Points

CAP Leadership/MIO Talking Points

CAP Flying Safety Record

  • On the average, CAP's accident rate per 100,000 flying hours is about a third the accident rate of the general aviation community across the country. When you consider that CAP's missions are typically flown only 1,000 feet above the ground, leaving little time to react in an emergency situation, CAP's low accident rate is even more significant. Though CAP flies in a high-risk environment, one of the reasons our accident rate is so low is because we have successfully used ORM or operational risk management - a technique developed by the Air Force safety community and eagerly adopted by CAP.
  • The National Transportation Safety Board's accident rates for general aviation over the past three years as compared to CAP's are as follows:

NTSCAP

  • 20046.495.23
  • 20057.202.8
  • 20066.641.84
  • 20072.39
  • Each CAP pilot takes a flight safety check annually and isevaluated on his or her ability to fly mission profiles.
  • The CAP safety education program ensures that both aircrew and non-aircrew are briefed on safety issues during monthly safety meetings.
  • Also, every CAP wing is given an evaluation on its ability to perform search and rescue/ disaster relief missions biennially.

CAP Pilot Training

*Aerial search and rescue is clearly a demanding mission. Coupled with the rigors of mountain flying, that particular mission poses a greater risk. However, CAP aircrews are absolute professionals and are highly trained in all aspects of aerial search and rescue and mountain flying techniques.

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CAP aircrew members fully understand the dangers associated with SAR missions and train continuously to minimize and manage the risks (ORM). They consider their duties to be critical. Over the years, CAP has been credited with saving an average of 75 lives annually.

CAP Aircraft Maintenance

*Civil Air Patrol aircraft are rigorously maintained in accordance with FAA standards. The maintenance is timely, thorough and carried out by FAA-certified mechanics. CAP maintenance policies are stricter than or as strict as general aviation standards in America, with greater emphasis placed on regular aircraft inspections throughout the fleet.

Cause of Crash

*CAP SAR crews, administration and support staff ever speculate as to what might have caused a crash, if the SA involves and aircraft. The only correct response here is that the cause is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and nothing more can be said until the investigation is complete and the results have been released.

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