[EAS] Sufolk Co, NY EAS mishap

[Bill Ruck]

Out here on the Left Coast reading the mail is amusing.

I've told this story before but it is still relevant.  A few years 
ago I made a presentation on CAP to the Northern California chapter of APCO.

The most common question after the presentation was "Who is going to 
pay for training my dispatchers?"

And that is the major issue with any warning system.  Training is 
expensive and most of the time not included in any grant.  So when 
something happens (like Fire Island) nobody really knows what to do.

Two years ago I attended an EAS meeting at the NAB and confronted the 
FCC and Homeland Security men.  (One was a retired Navy Admiral and 
the other was a retired Army general; I forget which.)  I asked them 
why they don't include money for training in grants.  They could not 
answer that.  I suggested that to make EAS/CAP/IPAWS/etc. work 
everyone in the Public Safety world needs training.

Nothing happened.

Bill Ruck
Curmudgeon
San Francisco