Arizona sun., 1962-04-19
What Is
Civil Defense?!

caused Dy ollcIIly dlIdCk, OuIy Will
an army of volunteers decked out
in tin hats and Civil Defense arm
bands. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The FCDA Act
of 1850 defines the term "Civil
Defense" as -. All those activi-
ties and measures assigned or
undertaken to minimize the ef-
fects upon the civilian population
caused or which could be caused
! by an attack upon the United
States. :" H.
All activities, therefore, which
tend to minimize the effects upon
the civilian population caused or
which could be caused by an at
tack upon the United States" are
Civil Defense activities.
Civil Defense-the only kind of
Civil Defense that will pay off
concerns the responsibility of each
level of government to deal with
emergencies as they arise. Sup
pose your town were hit by flood.
and this has happened in Maricopa
County, the town fathers would not
stand idle while squads of volun-
teers rushed helter-skelter into the
fray. Rather. the mayor, police
chief and other officials would
employ all of their resources to
cope with the situation. Of course,
they would use volunteers But,
such volunteers would serve as aux
iliaries to the departments of local
government and under the direc-
ton of local government. They
would be part of local govern
ment.
And, if the disaster were big
enough, your home town could ex-
pect help from the Safe and, if
necessary, from all pertinent
agencies of the Federal Govern
ment. That is government in emer-
gency action-the only real form
of Civil Defense.
It is our job, hereYin the Civil
Defense joint Council, to provide
guidance and assistance, and to
coordinate the emergency planning
activities among the various de-
partments of local government.
This Includes also the development
of plans to utilize full and coordi-
nate the non-governnnent leader
ship and resources into communi-
ty emergency preparedness. Con-
tinual liaison with us and other
departments of local government
fniust be maintained Mto ensure
proper coordination. Up-to-date
emergency planning information,
guidance, and assistance is avail
able to you by just calling our Of
flee.
TRAINING
What can | do? Who is right
and who is wrong? Why do some
people tell us one thing and some
another? These, and similar ques-
tions are being frequently asked of
our coordinators who are in con-
tact with the local citizenry. We
think that one possible approach
in supplying the answers to the
many questions that are asked
by persons who are sincerely seek
ing information. is that we at
tempt to reason these problems out
/, together. We find it quite difficult,
when given only brief 80 minutes
to make a public presentation, to
explain our entire civil defense
program. We find that we usually
do not satisfactorily answer the
many questions that are asked.
We find that our subject matter
is simply too broad to properly
cover in one brief presentation.
! To educate the public in our pro-
gram, we are offering certain es-
i tablished courses of instruction
pertinent to the many phases OF
/ Civil Defense preparation. We fully
realize that it is impossible to get
everyone in the valley to attend
these courses that are now being
offered at our headquarters. Limit
ed space, time for classes, and the
availability of instructors are but
few Of the minor problems. But
we feel that those who have at
tended our many courses of in
struction can further assist in the
program in their respective neigh
bOrhoOds. We know too that we
Ihave certain courses that can be
presented by persons who have the
qualifications but have not attend
led course. So, to get back to the
question that we started with, you
can help by trying to get series
of courses in your neighborhood
church, school, or public assembly
room. You can attend this train
ing locally or at our headquarters.
You can encourage your friends
and neighbors to investigate and
try to find what is actually being
done to assist and inform people
in the county. Call our Civil De-
/ fense Headquarters. Contact our
training coordinator.
4 Medical Self-Help Program