This document is a guide to deployment of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Auxiliary. It will include procedures, forms, checklists, descriptions of roles and responsibilities, and instructions for preparing to operate in the field.
In an emergency deployment, the first step (unless other instructions are given) is to load your gear (personal kit and any specialty gear needed for your role or which you have arranged to provide) and proceed to the Staging Area. At the staging area, equipment and personnel are unloaded (large equipment inventoried in place), checked in, and sorted for their destinations. Staff officers will confer with authorities, determine where we are ultimately needed, and issue orders for actual deployment.
A "staging area" is the place where emergency personnel and resources are gathered and organized for deployment. Our primary staging area, unless other arrangements are made, is the Spirit of '76 Park in Mount Vernon on North Main (Map). There is a parking lot available which is not needed for other emergency needs, space to pitch tents if required for long-term operation, it is close to the Justice Center, EOC, and Sheriff's Office, and there is little nearby to fall on it in a weather emergency.
It must be kept in mind that, under emergency conditions, we may not know the conditions of any site or routes of travel, even if we have used them before. Roads may be blocked by debris, flooding, refugee traffic, or other obstacles. The site itself may have sustained damage or facilities may not be functional. Other organizations may be operating in our assigned area.
As soon as we know where we need to deploy, an Advance Team is assembled and an Objective Rally Point (ORP) is identified. The Advance Team is sent out ahead of everyone else to scout out the route of travel, the ORP, and the deployment site, examine the proposed deployment site, make contact with any local authorities or personnel on site, establish communications with the staging area, and identify any possible problems, particularly threats to safety, available or needed resources, communicating this back to the main body as quickly possible. The main body proceeds to the ORP and waits there. The ORP provides time for the Security Team to do its job, for an alternate site to be identified if needed, and for preliminary clearing to be done, but it also ensures that the deployment site is not clogged by incoming traffic as the site is prepared. Personnel and vehicles are sent forward from the ORP as the site is readied for whatever they carry.
The types of deployment sites we will use may vary greatly, from pitching camp in a field which must first be cleared of storm debris to operating out of another organization's shelter (e.g. a Red Cross-operated shelter). We may have utilities available or may be expected to provide for ourselves. We may have one or more worksites for relief efforts some distance from the camp or shelter where we will be taking meals and sleeping. Careful organization at the staging area and coordination with the Advance Team is essential to not make the deployment itself a confused disaster.
If we are deploying to a worksite and a separate camp, then the Advance Team (or two separate teams) must scout each site/route and ORPs will be identified for each. Typically, the majority of personnel with their Go-Bags and required field equipment shall be deployed to the worksite(s) and then a team will be dispatched to set up the camp or shelter area and establish a field headquarters. Equipment left at the staging area must be secured and protected in some fashion or sent back.
In the sense used in this document, an emergency response organization assists in local emergencies/disasters within the first 72 hours after occurrence. Disaster relief organizations (such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc) typically deploy after 72 hours have elapsed. The Lawrence County Sheriff's Auxiliary is an emergency response organization which deploys as soon as possible upon activation and remains in the field to assist in the transition to disaster relief as normal services and mechanisms begin to cope with the problem.
As soon as possible means "a call plus driving time". The goal of the organization is to have on-call members to the scene of a major (local) occurence in less than an hour, with further volunteers activating over a 12-48 hour period according to need. The only way that this can happen is if we are prepared well in advance. This is accomplished by having ready-to-go personal kit which will contain what we need to deal with a crisis: a Go-Bag and an Extended Field Bag (EFB). The Go Bag contains the tools and supplies a volunteer requires to spend 12-20 hours in the field (until headquarters can activate, billets can be prepared, and a supply line is put in place). The Extended Field Bag carries the volunteer out to 72 hours and then with additional rations and supplies from the unit, indefinitely.
Both bags must be packed and on-hand at all times. It is often appropriate to have them in the trunk of a vehicle so that they are accessible at home and at work. They should be in a form where they can be carried when necessary to hike to a work area or to an encampment (remember that first-in volunteers may not have the benefit of cleared roads). The two bags are separated so that they can be carried together if necessary or that the EFB can be easily dropped and the Go-Bag carried. The Go Bag is clearly marked with an orange tag and the EFB with an blue tag. This makes it easy for a volunteer to arrive at a staging area and drop the bags in two piles for transport to the work site and the field headquarters or billets, respectively.
The contents of the personal kit are in addition to whatever kit is required for a volunteer's specialty, such as radio equipment for a communications specialist, medical kit for a field medic, etc.
Every effort must be made to ensure that personal kits are ready and complete. The Quartermaster shall maintain spares of critical supplies and equipment, but if volunteers arrive unprepared, at best it slows down the effort and at worst it puts the unit in danger.
The Go-Bag is the container of tools and supplies which will sustain a volunteer through 12-20 hours in the field. It should be packed and accessible at all times such that, upon receiving an activation warning, it can be grabbed and packed in a vehicle, or carried if necessary. A balance must be struck between ensuring that essential gear is available when needed and keeping the Go-Bag as light and compact as possible. This is a balance we will need to work out through time and training.
Suggested Contents (discussion about equipment standardization elsewhere)
Emergency response volunteers should be in the habit of carrying essential supplies at all times. It is perfectly possible and reasonable for a CCW-holder and First Responder to have a firearm, flashlight, compact first-aid kit, and knife on their person at nearly all times (wherever permissible). Recall that many businesses were open and operating at the time the Joplin F-5 tornado struck. There was no possibility, in many cases, of getting to emergency gear in the first aid kit behind the counter or an emergency kit in the trunk of the car: in many cases, neither the kit nor the car were still there after the funnel passed. People who are prepared and have emergency equipment are in a position to help others and begin organizing an effective response.
To this end, it is recommended to have a compact version of an essential tool (e.g. a pocket knife) on your person and a more robust tool in the Go-Bag. This provides a backup item or an item to loan another responder and also ensures that you are not caught flat-footed if you cannot access your bag. For example:
Medication: It is also worth noting that if you need daily medication, especially one which will cause problems if it is not taken, you will need to have it with you when you deploy (along with doctor/prescription information for emergency purposes and for obtaining more in an extended circumstance). If this is a critical issue, you can have your pharmacist fill and label a small bottle with an emergency supply for your kit (rotate and use up periodically) or just get in the habit of keeping your medication on your person or in your Go-Bag all of the time. Ensure that the Chief Medical Officer is aware of the condition and the required medication.
The Extended Field Bag sustains the volunteer out to 72 hours in temporary billets or encampment and should be prepared with the possibility that there may be no further supplies available within that period. The EFB is separated from the Go-Bag so that the kit a volunteer may need to carry into the field is as small and light as possible. The contents of the EFB will not be needed in the course of a normal workday and, given that the EFB shall be clearly marked and separated, the load-master can send them directly to wherever volunteers will be spending the night, whether that be temporary billets as guests in community homes, a field encampment, shelter, or other facility.
In the event that supplies such as clean water and hot meals are available, the contents of the EFB can be saved and replenished to extend the amount of time a volunteer can stay out without support. If we are to deploy for longer than 72-hours, the contents of the EFB will run low and unit-resupply must be in place before that time expires. The EFB must contain basic camp items such as cups and mess kit, toiletries and shave kit, etc., so that the volunteer can operate in the field outside 72 hours given steady supplies of clean water, food, hygenic supplies, and other consumables. In case potable water is not available or the supply is not reliable, the EFB shall contain minimal water treatment equipment (e.g. tablets or personal bacterial-grade filter).
Suggested Contents
Supplies need to be inventoried, checked, and rotated on a regular basis (e.g. monthly).
In order to coordinate with law enforcement and other responders in the field, Auxiliary volunteers must have access to a Part-90 certified 2-way radio. We also frequently need to coordinate with volunteer organizations and regular citizens (e.g. CERT, ARES, Neighborhood Watch). Because it is extremely difficult for on-call volunteers to carry more than one radio, we need a radio handset which can be adapted for as many roles as possible. The LCSA has some number of cache radios it can issue to volunteers, but many volunteers purchase their own. This page describes what radio models and what add-on equipment is known to work.
All volunteers must be authorized by the Sheriff's Office by meeting 2-way radio training requirements and being issued a county call sign. Public service radios may only be used for official, authorized traffic.
Recommended Handsets
The Wouxun is one of the only radio handsets which is both Part 90 (commercial and public service) and Amateur Radio certified. It's wide frequency coverage means that it can be programmed to monitor virtually everything we use on a regular basis or potentially transmit on a number of services for emergency communication purposes. As our needs change, it can be adapted to suit the new requirements. It also has the ability to be extended with after-market accessories, including higher-power batteries or battery-excluders, microphones, external antenna, etc., and those accessories should work with other radios if ever decide to use a different handset. Wouxun handsets can be programmed with high-quality free software (CHIRP) and can be cloned handset-to-handset in the field. The radio quality is somewhat lacking compared to a dedicated public service or amateur radio handset, but it is one of few options which can do both well at all.
Note on different models: In general, get the newest version. We have found that it is possible to clone from a new handset to an old handset but not necessarily from an old model to a new. The KG-UV6X comes with the 1700mAH high-capacity battery which is an added cost in older models.
Recommended accessories
Clean water is a critical supply. A person can survive for a few weeks without food but only days without water and dehydration starts to slow reactions and fog mental processes within hours. A person requires 2 liters of drinking water per day, more in hot conditions or when hiking or working. Contaminated water supplies can kill quickly and in a gruesome fashion, completely incapacitating within a few hours, rendering someone unable to assist themselves. In a disaster, normal supplies of water may be inaccessible (pumps may have stopped for lack of water or pipes may be broken) or normally clean supplies may have been contaminated by flood water or unsanitary refugee conditions.
Each volunteer must have at least 2 liters of water in their Go-Bag and another in their Extended Field Bag. An astute observer will note that this is only 48-hours worth of water under normal conditions and does not include any for toiletries or cooking. The required amount represents a bare minimum, but as water containers are bulky and heavy, it can be difficult for a volunteer to really carry enough into the field. We therefore need to ensure that adequate unit supply also exists as early as possible in a response. The EFB shall also contain some mechanism for water treatment (tablets or a personal filter) to allow the volunteer to produce potable water from whatever supply may be available. It is also important for volunteers to seek out basic wilderness survival training to understand where to find drinkable water, how to get it, and how to avoid contaminating supplies if cut off from a supply base[bib]845[/bib].
You need readily accessible containers in your Go-Bag (e.g. canteen, hydration bladder) and sturdy containers to refill them in your EFB. Rinsed 2-liter soda bottles work well. Hydration bladders tend to make you take water in small, steady amounts, and this is often ideal when working or hiking, especially in windy Missouri conditions, but many people find the hoses irritating or even dangerous while working with equipment or in brush. Use whatever will work best for you. Steady straight-line winds will dehydrate the body quickly and you will rapidly exibit mental effects if you are not careful; it is critical to be able to think clearly at all times in an emergency deployment. Water-bearers to move water forward and check volunteers for signs of dehydration are a critical component of any emergency response team.
In addition to the water itself, some source of flavoring and electrolytes are needed. Many people are not used to drinking plain water and will not drink enough of it if it is plain. In hot weather deployments, you will rapidly lose salt and other electrolytes. Powdered lemonade mix or similar can work well, as can sekanjabin syrup [bib]OzarkHerbal1[/bib] [bib]OzarkHerbal2[/bib] "Sekanjabin Syrup". If you add too much flavoring in hot weather, your body may not get enough plain water to meet its needs. Therefore mix weakly (~ half strength) and only as needed so you retain some plain water for other needs (washing out a wound with lemonade is sub-optimal). Make sure you can measure and mix easily.