Good advice for the Thanksgiving holiday
Our lives were changed on 9-11, a date whose numbers form a cruel irony for public safety communicators. This universal number for “help” had come to represent assistance and assurance — and a sense of security for people throughout the country.
As soon as details of the events on Sept. 11 began unfolding, I thought of the words of John Foster. He was an innovative police chief in our small town for 20 years and, like most members of the public safety community, thoroughly enjoyed the job and the people associated with it. Nothing made him beam more broadly than the opportunity to talk about his first love: police work. One of his favorite and most repeated maxims was “Take care of the little things. The big things will take care of themselves.”
Most of the radio techs in our department are young. Like everyone else in the country, they were and remain unsettled by that day’s events. Like many other jurisdictions, we opened our Emergency Operations Center. Initially, the EOC was only a clearinghouse for information. It was also the only act of preparedness we could offer against any potential local incidents. Part of the routine setup for EOC operations is the initiation of phone service for that facility. To keep minds clear and focused and “idle hands” busy, we made a one-man job into a three-person project. After all, it was at least a way to help us feel like we were doing something. Luckily, the extent of trouble in our county was the price gouging of customers by four gas stations that were playing on the public’s fears. Therefore, the EOC was quietly closed down the next day.
Public safety attracts people to its workforce for a variety of reasons. For some, it’s the excitement and the action. For others it’s the reliability of a steady paycheck with benefits and security for their family. Nevertheless, almost everyone does it to help, or to take care of other people who are in real need. My experience with communications professionals, including management, operations and technical staff, reveals this same dedication, concern and willingness to give of themselves.
For such people, there is nothing as frustrating or saddening as viewing that September day’s events in the context of their own jobs. First, for the vast majority of us who were not within the affected areas, there was no direct action we could take to affect or mitigate these tragic mass-casualty incidents. Second, as facts unfolded, we began to realize that the personal liberty and sense of trust we have freely enjoyed and hold dear as the foundations of our country were the precise means by which these acts occurred.
So what’s Radioman to do? Simple: “Take care of the little things.” All we can do is what we have been trained and rehearsed to do: conscientiously shepherd the planning, procurement, installation and maintenance of communications systems and equipment to be used by public safety workers in our respective jurisdictions. The work itself is remarkably unchanged, but Radioman’s commitment and purpose cannot be overstated and must not be underestimated.
Maybe the maxim should be: “Continue taking care of the little things” because that’s what Radioman and the whole staff have been doing all along.
Dunford, MRT’s public safety consultant, is technical services consultant for the Lenexa, KS, Police Department. He is a member of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials — International. You can email Dunford at [email protected].
