[PAO] September Disaster Preparedness Month

Sun Sep 8 08:14:23 CDT 2013

Karen,

Some years ago, in the aftermath of a hurricane and massive evacuation of
Houston, the forward deployment area was moved from San Antonio to Houston
the day after it had left the Houston area, but Houston was unreachable
other than by air. There was no PIO available, and only a relatively
inexperienced PAO did the job. We were able to support that PAO from TXWG
HQ, but it was uphill all the way.This PAO did not choose to be a PIO; it
just fell on that one person because no one else was available. But in some
cases, such as when Katrina hit New Orleans, all communications were down,
and access was disrupted by floods.

The "PIO training issue" is not really a stumbling block. For a PAO to
qualify as a PIO, it is very easy. And all PAOs ought to be prepared for the
day when an emergency makes that PAO the de-facto PIO.

The converse is not easy, though. The CAP ES requirement for PIO
qualification is pitifully sketchy, and a PIO who has done the required ES
tasks (less than a day is all that's needed), will be far less capable than
a PAO with even a technician rating. FEMA provides PIOs with acceptable PAO
training; CAP's PAO training is far better than FEMA's. This is the real
problem, with many PIOs who are not PAOs, and when the emergency strikes,
they can't do as good a job as we can because they don't even know how to
write a good news release.

Regards,

Arthur ~

From: cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org
[mailto:cap-pao-bounces at lists.sempervigilans.org] On Behalf Of Karen
Copenhaver
Sent: Sunday, September 08, 2013 7:44 AM
To: CAP Public Affairs Officers
Subject: Re: [PAO] September Disaster Preparedness Month

Good morning Tom,

I understand how this might work, however, there are PAOs who do not wish
to, or may not have the time to serve as a PIO, so why "require" him/her to
do so?  We do not "require" any other position to do so as part of their
training  (ref Mike Marek's response).    One can be an effective PAO even
if not serving as  PIO.   If we look at our entire CAP make up..... we wear
two hats, one is administrative, one ES.  I grouped administrative into our
day-to-day missions and initiatives because of our missions in cadet
programs and our aerospace education as well as our support of our community
involvement, and recruiting.  

One should not be "forced" to qualify as a PIO if one does not desire to do
so.  However, if one desires to serve as a PIO, then the background
knowledge and experience gained as a PAO will definitely enhance the ability
to serve in that capacity.   I whole heartely agree with Alice in that we
should nurture our relationships with other organizations, which I too have
been pushing for years.  Partnering with our fellow ES responders in
training and in actual missions will make for a better team effort from all
those who work in emergency services.  Thanks to Alice, we also should
review how current all our MOUs are, and obtain/download/print copies.  

On a training note, when I first joined CAP as a PAO, I made it a point to
learn about all other positions in the squadron..... and in the ES role,
especially during "training" missions. During those training missions, I
physically visited each section, observed their duties and asked questions
and took lots of notes.   That initiative provided a real perspective of
what they did so I could share with the public with a better understanding
and confidence.  As I mentor others, this is one of my first suggestions and
encouragement as it  is very important to speak with knowledge.

Karen

On 9/7/2013 10:52 PM, Thomtra wrote:

I agree, Karen, that a PAO can NOT automatically become a PIO. I think the
idea was to have a PAO EARN the PIO credentials as part of their required
qualifications rather than have two separate individuals.

Tom

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 7, 2013, at 6:03 AM, Karen Copenhaver <karenc at smyth.net> wrote:

With respect, I do not agree..... mainly because being a PIO is more
specialized and focused on emergency services.  The responsibility of a PAO
is different in that he/she is responsible for the image of CAP in general.
When first joining CAP, usually the PAO  is focused on learning more about
the organization, how it works or functions within the community, impacts
the future of our leaders (cadets) and just what CAP is and does as part of
our congressionaly mandated missions.  The PIO must be experienced and have
gained the confidence to work emergency / training missions.  There is a
significant difference as my personal professional training taught me, and
all those professional practioners will agree.  Let's not forget, that all
PAOs do not want to serve as PIOs.  I can't imagine a new PAO automatically
being considered a PIO, it's akin to telling a new CAP member is
automatically certified to fly as an observer, or field operative.  NO WAY.
There must be a specified dedicated training program to instruct a PAO in
how a mission is initiated, who initiates, learning the responsibilities of
fellow mission members, what should and should not be released, how to
interact with fellow mission members, the public and any members of a family
involved.  The list goes on... however, once the PAO gains the knowledge and
training in emergency services, then.... then he/she should be evaluated
before being certified to served as a PIO, but must serve as a PAO first, at
least for a year...... hope this helps.

Karen L. Copenhaver, Lt Col, CAP
Deputy Director, Public Affairs
MER

On 9/6/2013 4:10 PM, Cianciolo, Lt Col, Paul wrote:

That makes me even more convinced that CAP should not be separating PAO and
PIO responsibilities as is now. We are one organization and can't
compartmentalize it so much. SAR, HLS, and DR missions are part of the whole
mission. Without them, would CAP be here? At times its like being in two
different organizations depending on what the activity is.

Paul 

v/r
--
PAUL S. CIANCIOLO, Lt Col, CAP
Public Affairs Officer
National Capital Wing

Cell: 301-751-2011

Work: 202-385-9599 (@FAA)

_______________________________________________
CAP-PAO mailing list
CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org
http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao

_______________________________________________
CAP-PAO mailing list
CAP-PAO at lists.sempervigilans.org
http://lists.sempervigilans.org/mailman/listinfo/cap-pao

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sempervigilans.org/pipermail/cap-pao/attachments/20130908/d100102b/attachment.html>