Sailors, Marines hope for the best, plan for the worst

Operation Prepare aims to keep base, community ready

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by JOANNE MALENE The Emergency Management Team at Patuxent River Naval Air Station is encouraging local residents to be prepared in case of a natural or manmade disaster. Pictured with the reminder signs are, from left, DC2 Jarred Tully, DC3 Brandon Lundburg and DCFN Antwon Peterson. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

When Hurricane Isabel blew through Southern Maryland in September 2003, there were probably quite a few families who wished they had done more to prepare for the storm.

Again this year, the U.S. Navy is doing its best to make sure its sailors and Marines, their families and surrounding communities are prepared for any kind of disaster, either natural or manmade.

As you drive through the gates at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, at Webster Field or at Solomons, you will see some rectangular-shaped, black-and-white signs printed with short, snappy slogans like "Have a Plan," "Be Informed" or "Make a Kit."

The signs are reminiscent of the old advertising signs for Burma Shave used from 1925 through 1963 across the United States. Those signs not only asked people to buy the Burma Shave product, but also passed out words of advice for safety — "Don't lose / Your head / To gain a minute / You need your head / Your brains are in it / Burma-Shave"

The black-and-white signs used at the bases have a phone number and Web site listed on the reverse where people can go for more information. "We aren't planning for any specific disaster," said AMC (AW/SW) Terry Ménages, who, along with DCC (SW) Jerome Ray, are attached to N-37, the emergency management office at Pax River.

"The signs are there for any overall disaster," Ménages said. "We want people to take the time to put together an emergency kit so they are prepared in case of a hurricane or a manmade disaster. This is a Navy-wide program called Operation Prepare.

"We made these signs up in our office to try to educate personnel who come onto the base," Ménages said. "We want them to have a plan and to have an emergency kit and to be prepared for any disaster."

The program, sponsored by CNIC, the Commander Navy Installation Command, provides information for sailors to get them ready for any manmade or natural disaster.

Ménages recommends that each family have its own disaster kit filled with enough provisions for three days. The kit should include items like bottled water, nonperishable food items; a first aid kit; any needed prescription medicine; items for personal sanitation; a battery powered hand cranked radio for NOAA transmissions; a change of clothes; diapers for babies; some extra money; and local maps.

The base, of course, has disaster plans. In the case of a hurricane, planes are flown off the base, "depending on the severity of the hurricane," said Lt. Cmdr. Joel Doane, Air Traffic Control Facility Officer at the base.

Base commander "Capt. [Andrew] Macyko will make the determination on destinations for the helicopters or for the C-12s, but each individual squadron commander will make the decision for his squadron and his planes," Doane said. "There are predetermined sites, usually in the mid-west, depending on the storm. And, as the storm approaches, we coordinate with the receiving stations." Doane said there is an emergency e-mail alert system used on the base that varies depending on the emergency and the storms. The notification process starts about five days to a week before a storm arrives. "We train for this every year and during hurricane season, we do regular drills," he added.

Ménages said each family should have a family emergency plan and have copies of important family documents with their disaster kit. He suggested families go to the CNIC Web site and click on Operation Prepare at https://cnic.navy.mil/CNIC_ HQ_Site/OpPrepare/RegionalInfo/CONUS/index.htm or go to www.ready.gov./america/beinformed/hurricanes.html for more information.

When Isabel hit the county six years ago, the hurricane caused six-foot waves along the Southern Maryland coastline.

The 2009 hurricane season began with the month of June. Have a plan. Make a kit. Be Informed. Be prepared.

jmalene@somdnews.com

Emergency kits

To fully prepare family for an emergency, create one or more kits that include enough supplies for at least three days. Keep a kit prepared at home and also consider having kits in the car and at work and a portable version at home ready to go.

Necessary

- Water — at least one gallon per person per day for at least three days

- Food — nonperishable food for at least three days

- Manual can opener

- First aid kit

- Prescription medications

- Dust masks

- Personal sanitation supplies such as moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties

- Flashlight

- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio

- All-hazards weather radio

- Extra batteries

- Money

- Wrench or pliers for turning off utilities

- Local maps, your family emergency plan and important documents

Additional items

- Infant formula and diapers

- Food and water for pets

- Paper plates, paper cups, plastic utensils, paper towels

- Disinfectant

- Matches in a waterproof container

- Sleeping bag or other weather-appropriate bedding for each person

- A weather-appropriate change of clothes for each person

- Coats, jackets and rain gear

- Fire extinguisher

- Paper and pencil

- Books, games, puzzles, toys and other activities for children