Emergency management campaign helps Airmen 'Be Ready'

  • Published
  • By Robert Genova
  • Headquarters Civil Engineer Support Agency
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --  The Air Force Emergency Management's Be Ready Awareness Campaign features a new website and products designed to raise awareness and promote readiness on military installations and within local communities.

Emergency Management planners said they hope the messages will educate both military members and civilians about common home or workplace hazards and encourage them to begin their emergency planning to protect themselves and their loved ones in the event of disaster.

"Military (members), civilians, contractors -- really anyone living or working on a base -- needs to know about the types of emergencies or hazards they might face and what they can do to survive them," said Fred Casale, the chief of emergency management support at the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency here.

"Historically, Air Force emergency managers did not have a formally recognized program that pushed information to the public," Casale said. "Our goal is for everyone to 'get a kit, make a plan, and be prepared,' and the Be Ready Awareness Campaign provides a variety of tools and resources to help Airmen and members of the public do just that."

The Air Force Emergency Preparedness Guide is a 64-page handbook that includes removable sheets for key resources, phone numbers and helpful sites. It also contains an emergency supply kit checklist and a template to help families develop an emergency plan. The guide is available through local base emergency management offices or the Be Ready website.

Emergency management planners have also created a series of awareness posters to reinforce basic messages about individual preparedness.

Part of the campaign, "Be Ready Kids," is just for children. It includes several activity sheets educating two groups, ages 4 to 7 and 8  to 11, about a variety of emergency and disaster situations. The sheets use easily understood disaster terms and present safety messages and preparedness practices using crossword and word search puzzles, matching games, decoder puzzles, mazes and more.

For more information about the Air Force Emergency Management Be Ready Awareness Campaign, call or visit your local emergency management office or visit www.BeReady.af.mil.