Aubrey’s Analysis
Over the weekend, I got to see firsthand how the Okaloosa County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) operated. Multiple divisions were housed inside the building to keep up to date on how Hurricane Isaias was approaching the coast.
It was an all-hands-on-deck situation, and it really put into perspective how productive working as a team is. Here’s a room full of people and organizations who normally operate separately from one another, but in this specific situation they conjoin into one large group!
It makes you think about how sports require that same type of organization.
In football, a quarterback is unable to properly perform his duties if the offensive line doesn’t do their job. The running back can’t gain yards if the front line doesn’t open up a gap or pick up a block. A defense is unable to prevent a touchdown if a corner keeps getting beat deep, or if there is no communication about a shift being made on the offensive side.
So how do you get a team this organized? Well, with a coach, of course.
For Okaloosa County, Public Safety Director Pat Maddox is the head coach of the EOC. That job title holds a lot of weight when you think about his wins in terms of how many lives are saved.
Just as sports teams hold practice, so does the EOC. Back in May of this year, I attended the Emergency Operations Center Hurricane Exercise. Maddox laid out the scenario of a Category 2 hurricane approaching Okaloosa County and asked each division what they needed to do.
The exercise not only assured Maddox that his team knew what to do, but it also reassured those he asked.
Fast forward to October 9, and here we are with Hurricane Isaias just off the coast.
No one panicked. There were no screams of terror. The EOC was a habitat of cool, calm, collected individuals who knew they had a job to do, and a job that had to be done effectively to accomplish success.
As for me and my duty to the team, I guess you could compare it to a defensive coordinator. With no other media outlets present at the Okaloosa County EOC, I was the communication between them and the public.
Road closures, power outages, bridge closures- what is the EOC seeing that the general public may not be?
It was then my duty to communicate that information as quickly as I could so that the defense (Okaloosa County) understood what the head coach (Pat Maddox/EOC) needed them to do before the offense ran a play (arrival of Isaias).
As long as everyone played their part, there was no doubt that victory would be achieved.
The teamwork doesn’t stop there, however. There’s still damage throughout the county, throughout Crestview, and it’s time for the offense to respond.
So, help your neighbor, help local businesses, and pick up limbs and debris if safe to do so.