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How We Came to Be...The experiences gained in the wake of Hurricanes INIKI and ANDREW, further built upon by a number of other disaster operations throughout the US, led me to the conclude that, typically, electronic communications in time of disaster are not being well utilized or managed. While there have been other disaster operations in which the electronic communication function operated smoothly, there appeared to be far more cases in which it has failed to fully exploit the technology. Based upon my participation in the commercial communications industry, amateur radio community, other organizations involved in the communication process and various disaster relief operations, I elected to create an organization with the following mission statement: To provide technical assistance, equipment and manpower to those organizations and agencies which will be active in performing missions of humanitarian aid during time of disaster. Further, to foster a spirit of cooperation between those organizations and agencies who may be called upon to provide assistance in disaster planning, preparedness, mitigation, response, relief and/or recovery. These efforts are accomplished through the gathering of manpower -- individuals who are technically proficient in a form of electronic communications; the caching of communications equipment useful in disaster and emergency operations; the creation of pre-planned communication structures; and encouraging networking between those organizations and individuals who feel a need to help their 'fellow-man' during an emergency. How We Do It...Philosophy:While there are a number of organizations which perform at some level of disaster related communications, I found that there were a number of issues associated with their participation -- not the least of which was qualified manpower on a large-scale operation. Rather than trying to mimic the efforts of these groups, it appeared a better solution to offer our services PRIOR to a disaster and attempt to establish a working platform based upon the requirements of the organization, the skill of the members of the organization in question and the resources which the organization posesses. In short, we prefer to provide oversight management and interfacing, equipment which can be placed into direct use by the members of the organization(s) involved and training to allow those organizations to work at their own pace -- with the least amount of interference from outside. It is our hope that by subscribing to this concept we can reduce the workload of these organization(s) while providing a better degree of service to those affected by the disaster and, hopefully, freeing up valuable manpower who would otherwise be relegated to 'shadow' duties. Funding:The gross majority of funds for this organization come from the member's own pockets. We believe in the goals of the organization and strive to do our part to accomplish those goals. Additionally, goods-in-kind donations and cash donations help us purchase additional materials which hadn't been previously budgeted. In addition, I operate a company which sells and services a wide variety of consumer and commercial electronic equipment and approximately half of the proceeds from those commercial enterprises support our cause. Where We're Going...In the short time of our existence we've managed to accomplish a number of steps which have allowed us to build a solid foundation - but we're still growing and changing. In fairness, I don't believe there will ever come a time when we won't be growing and changing as we try to meet the needs of a diverse culture and ever changing global climate, while we learn better ways to perform our various missions. Currently, our finances and resources limit us to responding in the North West quadrant of the US. Long-term, we hope to develop five regional teams throughout the US, with a capacity to respond to any affected region - while providing base support and communications channels which touch-down outside the affected area(s). Our capacity to support a variety of communication media including amateur and commercial voice and data via two-way radio, telephonic and satellite will be expanded over a period of time, as will equipment purchases and the expansion of manpower pools. Interested?If you'd like to learn more about the NDCRT, feel free to peruse our site - always under development and ever expanding. You may also wish to drop us a line and we'll respond to you as quickly as possible. If you haven't already done so, please register on the site so we can send you information about the organization, updates and other useful information via e-mail. Further, you can register your organization so that members can be provided with secure access to this server and participate on a deeper level. Bob Nelson, Executive Director |
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All contents copyright 1996 - 2005 by Bob Nelson |
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