State Watch Office

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Eric K. Conklin

Deputy Chief of Operations

850-528-7526

eric.conklin@em.myflorida.com

Watch Office OperationsBrief background for non-activation operations:

• Formerly, State Warning Point (SWP)

• 24-7-365

• Weekday staffing 0700 to 1800: Duty Officer; Plans Officer; Meteorologist; Operations Officer/Operator; Operations Supervisor

• Weekend staffing 0700 to 1800: Duty Officer; Operations Officer/Operator; Operations Supervisor

Watch Office Operations

• From 1800-0700 minimum of one Operations Officer/Operator in Watch Office at all times

• After 1800: the Duty Officer is On-Call

• (Watch Office activation staffing level varies depending on level and/or requirements: for example, two 12 hour shifts (A/B); multiple Operations Officers/Operators)

Situational Awareness

• Daily: Operations Staff monitor major television networks, online news websites, online radio news stations, and email-based “Breaking News Alerts”

• Also monitor other websites of interest related to EM, Domestic Security, and potential threats to the State

• Draw information from Regional Coordinators, County Warning Points, other field employees, and other State/Federal agencies

Situational Awareness

• Meteorology Staff: monitor the weather and produce a variety of weather products for the SERT

• All SWO staff ensure emergency notifications are made to the Division, SERT, County EM Officials, and others

• Operations Staff also produce a Daily Situation Report, which is not to be confused with the Situation Report produced during activation times by ESF 5/Plans

DAILY SITUATION REPORT• Published daily, normally between 0900-1000, depending on

workload

• Target audience is the Florida EM community

• Distributed via email to County EM Directors, other SERT members, and Division staff

• Also posted on www.floridadisaster.org

• THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC; NOT A VENUE FOR SENSITIVE INFORMATION

DAILY SITUATION REPORT

Content:1. Contact Information for Duty Officer, Plans Officer, PIO2. Executive Summary 3. Weather Products (vary depending on season)4. EMAC5. Significant Events (political rallies, large gatherings)6. Open Source News (only reliable sources….)

• Content can change depending on the needs of the day (for example, we do not always have EMAC missions)

Contact Information/Exec Summary

Weather

EMAC/Significant Events/Open Source News

Open Sources

My Opinion

• There is quite a bit of free Open Source news on the internet; you can pay for it if you like

• You do not have to have access to classified information to have actionable intelligence

• Open source news/intelligence needs to be taken for what it is—unvetted/non-ground truthed information; it’s a starting point, a red flag

BBC News Americas

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/default.stm

An objective, free, international online news website.

CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/

A free, national/international online news website.

Google Newshttp://news.google.com/news

A good, free, open-source news search engine.

DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report

http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/programs/editorial_0542.shtm

Free subscription service; report is emailed to you (Sun, Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs).

Please Contact Me

Eric Conklin, Deputy Chief of Operations

Cell: 850-528-7526

eric.conklin@em.myflorida.com

Let me know what type of content you want to see in the Situation Report; suggestions/comments.

Please Contact the SWO

1-800-320-0519 or

850-413-9900

swp@em.myflorida.com

Let us know about any significant events that will occur in your county; or anything that should have statewide visibility. We will put them in the Situation Report, with your approval.

Questions