Author of the Civil Defense Book
FEMA’s response seems to be a low-level bureaucratic “ignore” I’m disappointed by FEMA’s response to my March 28, 2019 letter which I posted here. As you may recall, I wrote to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after not hearing from them on a letter I had sent them on March 7, 2018 – a…
Note: Last year, I wrote a letter to FEMA about building a culture of preparedness by bringing back civil defense. This year, I wrote a letter to FEMA… Click Here for a PDF Copy of Letter March 28, 2019 Pete T. Gaynor, Acting Administrator Daniel Kaniewski, PhD, Acting Deputy AdministratorFederal Emergency Management Agency500 C Street…
On March 7, 2018 (a year ago), I wrote a letter to then FEMA Administrator Brock Long on how we could build a culture of preparedness in America though civil defense. I never received any response. Fast forward to March 1, 2019 and Emergency Management Magazine published an article entitled: Report: We’ve Failed Miserably at…
The federal government has no plan for a long-term power outage As disturbing as it might be, despite the numerous threats to the U.S. electric grid, the federal government has no plan for a long-term power outage. FEMA recently admitted this at the National Preparedness Symposium on May 24, 2018: “Current planning does not include any contingencies for…
If you missed it, here are some pictures (click for larger pic)… (Videos of the New England Long-Term Power Outage Summit coming soon!) Why You Should Attend The New England Long-Term Power Outage Summit In 2018, our society is moments away from adversity while generations removed from self-reliance. We are completely dependent on the electric grid…
Letter to FEMA Administrator Brock Long on building a culture of preparedness [Click Here to read the PDF version of my Letter to Brock Long] March 7, 2018 William B. “Brock” Long, AdministratorFederal Emergency Management Agency500 C Street S.W.Washington, D.C. 20472 Goals:1. Building a culture of preparedness in the United States 2. Bringing back “civil…
Blackout: What we learn from electric grid failures What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history I’ve always loved this quote from Benjamin Disraeli. But it occurs to me that perhaps what is more dangerous than not learning from history, is learning from history. What most Americans have…
Guest Post: By Preston Le Roy Schleinkofer Introduction to Civil Defense and Civil Defense Virginia Ever since the demise of the U.S. Civil Defense Administration in the 1990’s, the community has been largely excluded from the process of emergency management. But since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the increasingly serious threats to…
All Roads Lead to Civil Defense: Survival is a local Issue. Civil defense is the organizing and training of civilians to play key roles in a community’s survival. Another term for this, coined by Civil Defense Virginia, is “continuity of community.” The concept is simple: A community’s citizens, in partnership with their emergency management and…
“While each year the hurricane season comes to an end on November 30, the lessons from the response and recovery operations that we are performing this year, under incredibly difficult circumstances, will transform the field of emergency management forever.” – FEMA Administrator Brock Long, November 30, 2017. Building a culture of emergency preparedness is now…