EOC keeps the mission going

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Coleman
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Emergency response is not just about reacting when something goes wrong, it's about planning and being prepared long before an incident is underway.

The Emergency Operations Center is the command and control support element that directs, monitors, and supports the installation's actions before, during, and after an incident. The core functions of the EOC are coordination, communications - including exchanging data with the incident commander, resource dispatch and tracking, information collection, analysis and dissemination.

"The purpose of the EOC is to help," said Lt. Col. Michael Sheredy, EOC Director. "When some sort of crisis happens, then the EOC could be spun up to handle that crisis."
Air Force installations must be able to sustain and continue their missions during all types of emergencies and threats. The EOC supports this effort.

"The EOC is often confused with the first responders - the fire department, the cops, and the medics. They're two separate functions that do interact but if something happens, the EOC would be stood up at the commander's discretion as a way of supporting the first responders," said Colonel Sheredy.

The EOC Director can support multiple incident commanders simultaneously, while providing strategic senior officer-level C2 for sustained response and recovery operations. The EOC director is the senior representative designated by the installation commander. It is recommended that the EOC Director position be filled by one of the following: mission support group commander, mission support group deputy, base civil engineer, or civil engineer deputy.

In addition, the EOC director utilizes 15 Emergency Support Functions to provide the incident commander all the information required to control the incident, restore mission capabilities, and sustain response and recovery activities.

"It's composed of different emergency management functions. These different organizations on base meet to help the incident commander handle emergencies so the bases' mission is still going," said Senior Airman Chioke Buckley, EOC manager.

The EOC is activated and recalled as necessary by the Installation Commander and is directed by the MSG commander or other senior representative appointed by the Installation Commander when circumstances require a full Disaster Response Force.

"The ESF positions provide sage advice and guidance to the EOC director and manager. The EOC director provides direction, issues orders to them and pushes information up," said Col. Karlton Johnson, 354th Mission Support Group commander.

The EOC updates the Crisis Action Team with ongoing incident status and seeks support through the CAT when on-scene requirements surpass the installation's inherent capability and the installation's cumulative capabilities acquired through Mutual Aid Agreements, an agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries.

"I'm really proud of all the people who are on the EOC and those that support the CAT because as a senior leader on this base, the worst thing that could happen is not having the information to make a good decision. Both the EOC and the CAT help us to make decisions that ultimately save lives, save property and most importantly save the mission," said Colonel Johnson.

The AF mission requires the highest degree of preparedness regardless of situations or circumstances; thus the need for the Air Force Emergency Management Program whose primary missions are to save lives, minimize the loss of resources, continue, sustain and restore combat and combat support operation capability in an all-hazards physical threat environment at AF installations worldwide.