Topside Spring 2017 Newsletter | Page 6

topside Volume 114, Issue 2 Page 6 Incident Management and Preparedness 5 th Northern’s 2017 FULL ACCOUNTABILITY DRILL An approaching Atlantic Hurricane has resulted in a mandatory evacuation order being issued for parts of Cape May County New Jersey and Sussex County Delaware. Everbridge® mapping capabilities have identified 255 Auxiliarists, and their families, that must evacuate. Voluntary evacuation orders have been issued for additional areas that could be adversely affected, affecting many more Auxiliarists. No, this time it is not a real event, it was a drill. But a very important drill designed to help each of us learn and understand our part during Everbridge® notifications. Our results for this Full Accountability Drill were excellent! Please continue to read to learn of the results! The United States Coast Guard considers it’s Auxiliarists as one of its most important assets. Should a real hurricane put Auxiliarists in danger, rest assured that we will be directed to confirm that all Auxiliarists in the affected area are safe. The US Coast Guard takes our safety very seriously, and we should too. As most of you know, each month we perform a monthly Everbridge® Familiarization Drill. These drills are prepared and initiated by the Auxiliary’s Incident Management & Preparation Team of 5 th Northern. The April drill was a joint effort between the US Coast Guard and US Coast Guard Auxiliary called a HUREX Drill. This was a week-long event that ended on Friday with a “Hotwash” meeting to review results; determine what went well, and also to examine areas that can be improved upon. Constant review and improvement is critical to success. These drills are conducted monthly to insure the 5 th Northern Everbridge® system, our procedures and our protocol are all working properly. These drills are vital to insure each an