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Operations center tool aids commanders in crisis situations with real-time information feed

  • Published
  • By Howdy Stout
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  A virtual tool is set to become a real weapon for commanders needing to communicate quickly and efficiently during exercises, incidents and emergencies.

The Virtual Operations Center is the brain child of Richard Shackelford, a planner with the 72nd Air Base Wing Plans and Contingencies office. The VOC uses a Web-based program to handle electronic communications and to provide Critical Action Team members with real-time information.

"It's real-time, live information for base leadership," Mr. Shackelford explains. "It gives them a snapshot of everything that's going on."

The program is based on a similar program developed by Maj. Scott Loller for emergency operations at Maxwell Air Force Base. Mr. Shackelford said he and Major Loller brainstormed how to develop a VOC from an existing SharePoint program, tailoring it to meet the needs of base commanders during an incident.

"It's tailored after his and I just switched it around for what we'd need at Tinker," Mr. Shackelford said. "I tailored it for our needs."

The heart of the program is the ability to store all the necessary checklists and procedures commanders might need for an incident. An event log is automatically updated every two minutes while a status board gives commanders the ability to see how various units are accomplishing tasks given them.

"We have briefings stored in here, all our checklists are here," Mr. Shackelford said.

A unique feature of the program is that CAT members can access the program from their offices or PDAs, eliminating the need for leadership to be in one place at one time in order to know what's going on. In some real-world incidents, Mr. Shackelford said, it might be advisable to keep leadership dispersed.

"Everyone could be at their offices," he said.

In fact, during the recent Operational Readiness Inspection, the 72nd ABW Public Affairs Office used the VOC's event log to keep commanders aware of events without leaving the office or being physically present in the Incident Command Center.

"And that's the intent," Mr. Shackelford said. "If need be, someone could be in the office and feed information using this site."

An added feature of the program is that multiple users can access and update information at the same time. The program updates information automatically every two minutes.

"People can work on it simultaneously," he said. "As inputs are made, it automatically updates this page."

And if Tinker's server goes down? No problem, says Mr. Shackelford.

"It's on the (Air Force Materiel Command) server," he says.

And even if that server is off-line, the program can be saved on a computer's desktop with the latest automatic information update safe and secure.

One of the features of the program is the ability to send out tasking messages via e-mail much quicker than existing procedures that require monitoring of email read receipts and task compliance. Using the program, task message recipients can update their status on assigned directives.

"It's new and we haven't implemented it fully, but I'm confident it will improve communications," he said. "It's unlimited what we can do with it."

Although ready for use, only the event portion of the program was used during the recent ORI. But inspectors were impressed with the program's potential. It is the first program of its kind used for incidents within Air Force Materiel Command.

"As far as I know, nobody uses it the way we do," Mr. Shackelford said.

The program took more than a year to develop for CAT use, but is easily adapted to specific requirements and is also easy to use. Mr. Shackelford is hoping to begin user training soon, although the program is easy enough to use that units from the 72nd Medical Group are already accessing and using the VOC program.

"I'm excited to get it up and running," he said. "Like anything new, it's still a work in progress, but it's very user friendly and can be changed to meet the wing's needs."