Military Logistics in Disaster Relief

Yesterday, we had the honor and pleasure of hosting SMSgt Thomas Orifice, who is with the 104h Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard, in my Humanitarian Logistics and Healthcare class.

At first there was some added excitement because his presentation was secure and would not load but we managed to get it working!

I had read an interview with Mr. Orifice , which I liked very much, including the wonderful quotes: I know that all of us would tell you that there is a shared sense of purpose and mission in the military that you don’t regularly see in civilian life. It is one of the major reasons I chose to make this my career. I work with people that are focused on getting the job done, and don’t let obstacles stop them. It’s amazing to see what the human collective can accomplish when they put their minds to it.

Mr. Orifice has had an over thirty year career with the National Guard and has served in France Italy, Germany, and Kyrgyztan, where he told us he saw "frozen fog," and he considers that assignment one of his most fulfilling ones.  He also took part in the liberation of Bosnia and Iraq Operation Freedom.

He kept us on the edge of our seats as yhe spoke about the capabilities of the military in disaster relief, the restrictions, the Stafford Act, and the fascinating case of Superstorm Sandy and his experiences in the response in NYC.

He eloquently emphasized emergency operations centers and showed informative photos and videos, including several on the emergency preparedness and response to Superstorm Sandy, the second costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. To be able to respond so quickly to Superstorm Sandy through effective military  command and control, successful coordination with NYC city planners and the assistance of Mayor Bloomberg, and such impressive military logistics, for the timely delivery of food, water, and fuel, and the provision of shelter for the responders was awe-inspiring!  NOAA had forecast the superstorm one week ahead of time which allowed for emergency declarations and meticulous preparation on the part of the National Guard. They were able to set up staging areas within 24 hours to deliver the necessary supplies and coordinated with NYC city planning authorities. They were not allowed to carry weapons and, hence, needed police assistance to assist in deliveries.

The vehicles that the National Guard has from planes to high water vehicles to forklifts were very helpful in this major disaster relief  mobilization. In addition, the National Guard brought their own shelters and set them up so as not to take up valuable hotel spaces in NYC. He emphasized specifically the devastation of the Rockaways.

Also, Mayor Bloomberg allowed for taxis to obtain fuel since NYC residents are so dependent on access to transportation and the public transit system was shut down for days because of the flooding and electric power outages as well as fuel shortages.

SMSgt Orifice  did a great job reinforcing what the students have learned so far in this course and educated us with new information and material. He clearly showed the importance of logistics in humanitarian operations!

 

And, he said that my students next academic year can get a tour of his National Guard facility - great to hear! A big thank you to SMSgt Thomas Orifice!

Crisis Management and Resilient Leaders

People are starting to take notice.

It is hard not to -- with record-breaking temperatures in the United States this summer, severe drought enveloping many states, including some of our major grain and corn states, which will surely drive prices up for food products, extreme weather events and storms happening with increasing frequency, plus climate change even affecting our infrastructure -- from our roads to our electric power networks.

There is even a blood shortage this summer -- the worst in 15 years -- being reported by the Red Cross, partially attributed to the storms and heat this summer.

We have been researching fragile critical infrastructure networks and even wrote the book, Fragile Networks, in which we defined terms such as robustness and quantified synergies associated with network integration, through the prism of supply chains, since, truly, it is supply chains that link our economic activities together through production, transportation, storage, and ultimate distribution. I spoke on Building Resiliency in Washington DC on a special Transportation Research Board panel.

Our world is changing and  leaders must become aware of crisis management.


We are in need of Resilient Leaders.

The Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst has on its homepage the following:

Resilient Leadership for an Evolving Business Climate

and it is great to see new courses being taught around this theme and new initiatives.

There is a feature news article, Students Learn Crisis Management in Innovative Isenberg Course,  on the new course in Humanitarian Logistics and Healthcare  that I taught in Spring 2012. In the course, we had speakers from the National Guard, the Red Cross, the UMass emergency preparedness group, and even a disaster communication expert and a former student of mine from the profit sector, who has worked in healthcare. Nice to see my students quoted in the article.

Yes, even the army has realized the importance of location theory in determining where its critical supplies should be stored since it expects a greater role in humanitarian crises and evacuation management -- topics that we studied in my course and timely response and deliveries can save lives in crises.

Our research from blood supply chains to supply chain metrics in the case of disasters can be accessed on the Virtual Center for Supernetworks website.

A Salute to the Massachusetts National Guard

Today we had the honor and privilege of hearing Lt. Col. James Sahady of the Massachusetts National Guard speak to my Humanitarian Logistics and Healthcare class at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

Lt. Col. Sahady drove down this morning from eastern Massachusetts and arrived early to my 9:30AM class. He has 25 years of experience with the Massachusetts National Guard and his lecture was fascinating.

We learned that the Massachusetts National Guard is the oldest military organization in the United States, dating back to 1636 and that the US military began in Salem, Massachusetts (the first muster).

He spoke about the Massachusetts National Guard's organization, the numerous operations that it has been involved in over the past few years with vivid examples and photos of such recent disasters as the June 1, 2011 tornado, the tropical storm (Hurricane Irene that hit us in late August) , and the Halloween snowstorm that knocked out power for many for days. The Guard called this operation Harvest Snow.

We learned how the guard has both federal and state missions and how it reports to our governor, Deval Patrick, who has attended every funeral of Massachusetts soldiers since he took office.

We learned how the Massachusetts National Guard works with MEMA and FEMA and of its immense and thorough efforts in planning before possible disasters. We heard about the various critical roles that it has played from clearing roads in the above natural disasters (clearing 600 miles worth in one disaster alone) to even doing thousands of "wellness" checks on citizens.

Lt. Col. Sahady had served in both Bosnia and in Iraq and shared with us his experiences. We were amazed at his resiliency and I was so pleased that he emphasized the importance of education. His energy, enthusiasm, and warmth showed throughout his visit today.

He also spoke about the executive order from President Obama of last March that created a rapid homeland response force with Massachusetts leading the effort and the US being divided into regions.

The education that we received today was truly special and I salute Lt. Col. Sahady and the Massachusetts National Guard. As citizens of this great Commonwealth, we are lucky to have such outstanding, trained individuals.

At the end of the class with numerous questions answered throughout his brilliant, captivating presentation, Lt. Col. Sahady presented me with a certificate of appreciation and a memento from Iraq. I was speechless and responded with a hug.

The photos above serve as additional mementos of a very special guest lecturer.