Weekly Wrap Up

March 14-20, 2022

Weekly Wrap Up March 14-20, 2022

The movie War Dogs the other day got us thinking about how emergency managers conduct our procurement process. War Dogs is based on a true story of two kids from Flordia that became international arms dealers, selling arms to the United States Department of Defense. The part of the movie that got us thinking was how they used the Department of Defence procurement to enter into business. For the record, the film is not 100%; however, if you listen to the NPR story The Accidental Arms Dealer, you will get the picture of how it worked.

The takeaway from the NPR story was not about arms sales. It is having a working understanding of how the federal government conducts its procurement process. This will help you with traversing the Public Assistance process. It is not every day that you get to talk about the process with experts in the field, and Todd was able to sit down with Randy Fuss with Doosan Bobcat. They chatted about contracts and relationships. It is always good to have that relationship with a service provider before a crisis arises. 

What to Read 

Sarah K. Miller

Preparing for infrastructure compromise

Many of us grew up during the Cold War. We spent a lot of time worrying about what we would do if our respective politicians lost their minds and pressed the nuclear button, sending us all diving under our desks or into bomb shelters. We’ve continued to worry about the nuclear abilities of other nations, particularly North Korea, but by and large, preparing local communities for war went away with the switch from Civil Defense to Emergency Management. Now we crawl under our desks for earthquakes (which might actually protect us) and head for tornado shelters instead of fall-out shelters…

Todd De Voe:

Do Emergency Managers Need a College Degree?

The debates rage on social media. Do emergency managers need a college degree? Now for full disclosure, I am an academic. I write papers and explore the problems we face as emergency and crisis managers. Do I bring a bias to this debate? Yes, I do. However, I would argue that I bring years of experience and education to the conversation. Before judging the topic, hear me out, and I would like to read your opinions in the comment section…

Emergency Management:  Is It The Hero or the Villian?

The profession of emergency management is evolving. We are moving away from the lights and sirens of public safety and expanding the idea of what emergency management ought to be. 

When we talk about Emergency Management, what are we talking about? What does this emergency management system look like to the public we serve? Emergency management is changing, and it is time we challenge the current leaders in the profession to grow.