During its 4th Annual Small Business (SB) Conference, July 27-28, the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) San Antonio Post also conducted Readiness & Homeland Security (R&HS) Workshop on July 28 focused on “Emergency Response Opportunities” for the 250 plus attendees of the Conference.
The workshop was organized and lead by Franz Schmidt (Bhate Environmental Associates, Inc.), Post R&HS Director, and other members of the Post Readiness Committee. The workshop included special guest speakers from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Texas State Guard Engineer Detachment.
Post R&HS Director, Franz Schmidt, lead off the session with an overview of the Society’s R&HS Programs including a review of the SAME’s Readiness Mission, R&HS Program Requirements (Past, Present and Future), the Post’s previous FAST START Plan, Local Agency Coordination, 2010 Planned Activities, and Sustaining Member Volunteer Opportunities including participation in organizations such as the Texas Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (http://www.txwarn.org/) and Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Public Works Response Team (http://www.teex.org/teex.cfm?pageid=EUprog&area=EU&templateid=1622).
Ken Olson from the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TEEX) talked about the problems with the traditional responses to catastrophic events and the new evolving coordinated team response approach including liaison, planning and operational support experts. Ken covered the organization and operational concepts of the Texas Rapid Response Task Forces and their responses to local emergencies in the last two years. He reviewed the operational support capabilities of the Texas Public Works Response Teams (TXPWRT) and their operational response time line. Ken finished by covering TXPWRT actions in recent hurricane emergencies and explaining the Texas Division of Emergency Management organization and responsibilities.
The workshop concluded with speaker Michael Thuss from the Texas State Guard Engineer Detachment, which provides civil engineer augmentation for disaster relief operations. Mike covered the unit’s mission, organization, capabilities and operational concepts. He also briefly covered some of State Guard’s recent responses and the opportunities for SAME members to join and participate with the unit.
The R&HS Workshop was highly successful and conducting it in conjunction with the SB Conference enabled the Post to expose a large audience to the Society’s R&HS Mission and explain how SAME members can assist in local emergency responses. The Post plans to include the Workshop again in its 2011 SB Conference and in the 2012 TEXOMA-Missouri River Regional Conference, which it will host.
Franz Schmidt Bhate Environmental Associates, Inc. SAME San Antonio Post R&HS Director