Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      ‘Be Ready’ during hurricane season, alwaysPublished June 29, 2019
                    
                    By Mark Kinkade
                    
                    
                    AFIMSC Public Affairs
            **TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --**With hurricane season underway, the Air Force’s emergency management team is reminding people that disasters can happen anywhere, anytime. Their advice?
“Be ready,” said Robert Genova, the Air Force emergency management operations support section manager with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. “In the past 12 months, we’ve seen that disasters and other emergencies are unpredictable. The best thing Airmen can do is take simple precautions to protect themselves and their families if something happens.”
Although June marks the beginning of hurricane season, the emergency management team knows first-hand that emergencies don’t have off-seasons. Hurricane Michael devastated Tyndall AFB in October 2018, causing an estimated $4 billion in damages and forcing the entire base population to evacuate.
The Air Force also experienced other large-scale emergencies, including massive flooding that caused damage to facilities at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; an earthquake that hit Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska; and tornadoes that recently struck Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
“In all these situations, damage was extensive.” Genova said. “But injuries were minimal and no one associated with the Air Force died as a result of the disaster. Being prepared and knowing what to do in these critical moments has a huge impact on the outcome and makes the crisis more manageable.”
To help Airmen prepare for emergencies, the Air Force launched the “Be Ready” awareness campaign in 2012. The campaign emphasizes three key things Air Force families can do to prepare for potential emergencies:
Get a kit: assemble a collection of first aid supplies, food, water, medicine and important papers to get through the emergency.
Make a plan: know how to stay in touch with family, where to go for safety and how to reunite.
Be prepared: anticipate emergencies that likely could occur.
Genova said Tyndall AFB’s experience with Hurricane Michael demonstrated the effectiveness of the preparation strategy.
“Fortunately, we had some warning that the hurricane was coming,” he said. “Leadership ordered an evacuation and people were prepared. Many had kits and they had planned where they were going to go. Michael destroyed a majority of the base, but our people were safe.”
While some threats are seasonal, such as hurricanes, there are many other natural, man-made and technological hazards that can occur without notice, said Kathryn Moses, an Emergency Management team mission assurance and communications specialist.
“The ‘Be Ready’ campaign provides an abundance of pertinent information for coping with multiple different types of emergencies as they are happening, as well as what to expect afterwards,” she said.
Hazards and threats covered range from droughts, floods, wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and typhoons; thunderstorms and lighting, tornadoes, extreme heat or cold and volcanoes to active shooters, terrorism, hazardous material incidents, home fires, power outages and nuclear power plants.
In 2017, AFCEC’s Emergency Management Division updated the “Be Ready” mobile application to compliment the revised Air Force Emergency Preparedness Guide. The app offers the user (military, civilians, contractors and family members) key resources and personalized selections needed for an emergency, including a list of all hazard/threat information, checklists, links to useful websites and tools to build emergency plans. The app is available for download from the app stores for Android and Apple devices.
“Emergencies that have impacted the Air Force recently are reminders,” Moses said. “While disasters are unpredictable, preparation is something everyone can do to ‘be ready.’
“Preparation is a constant process,” she added. “We know it works because while the Air Force has had a lot of natural emergencies in the past year, people were able to stay safe. They were able to protect themselves and their families. We believe that’s because they were prepared. They were ready.”
For more information about emergency preparedness information visit the Be Ready page.Air Force Civil Engineer Center 



AFCEC 



Be Ready Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                Kendall, Allvin, Saltzman urge modernization while warning Senate of delayed budgets
                    
                    Readout of Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s travel to the Philippines
                    
                    Air Force senior leaders visit Eielson AFB
                    
                    Air Force leaders focus on ACE during Kadena AB visit
                    
                    USAF senior leaders visit Mariana Islands on ACE tripInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Cope Tiger concludes in Thailand
                    
                    Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil