Are You Prepared?

  • Published
  • By TSgt Elizabeth A. Schultz
  • 30th Civil Engineer Squadron
September is National Preparedness Month and this year's theme is "Be Disaster Aware - Take Action to Prepare."
The VAFB office of emergency management is hard at work getting the word out, to military members and their families, on how to be personally prepared for natural disaster and other emergencies.

Imagine it's a beautiful Saturday morning and you are enjoying sleeping in a bit before starting your day. Then the phone rings. It's an automated message about a wild fire in your area and you are being asked to evacuate.

Are you ready for this? Do you have a plan for what you need to take with you and how to safeguard what you cannot? Have you thought about what you intend to do about your pets in such a situation? Creating a plan helps alleviate the stress and impact on your life and your family when the unexpected and unpleasant occurs.

Creating a plan may seem like a daunting task at first but there are tools to help you through every step. Start by getting educated on the risks in your area.
The biggest risk to those who reside and work on VAFB is the threat of wild fires, hands down.
Armed with your risk information, you will be ready to begin developing a plan. There are a plethora of tools out there to help you create a comprehensive plan for you and your family. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has created a new website, www.Ready.gov, specifically designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural and man-made disasters. This website provides information on how to be informed, make a plan, build a kit and get involved. There is even a section for military families.

For something a bit more mobile, Air Force Emergency Management has published the "Be Ready" app specifically for helping Air Force personnel and their families prepare for and recover from natural disasters, major accidents and other emergencies.
 
In a letter to the American People on the first National Day of Action, President Barak Obama closed with the following remark "When our Nation faces crisis, we respond with unmatched determination and resilience. Let us honor the strength our people show in times of adversity by preparing ourselves, our neighbors, our schools, and our workplaces before disaster strikes."

Let us do our best to take that to heart.

For more information visit www.Ready.gov or www.BeReady.af.mil . You can also contact your unit EM representative or the Vandenberg office of emergency management at 805-606-4022.