THE TACTICS MEETING

Underestimated spill volume, poor visibility, and confusion were only some of the challenges Barry McFarland faced when he became Incident Commander in San Fransisco after the MV COSCO BUSAN collided with the Bay Bridge. When it comes to putting early response to the test, credibility is your number one tool. Six months of built-up trust can disappear in just a few response hours by releasing misleading information. The Captain of the Port found this out the hard way on day seven of this event when he was relieved as Federal On-Scene Coordinator because of a lack of confidence.

There's a lot to be learned when it comes to the Washington State Emergency Response Towing Vessel. Why do we need it? Who pays for it? And how do I get coverage for my vessel? In this episode, we answer all these questions.  Captain Moore, Captain Veentjer, Dale Jenson, and Sonja Larson explain the history, funding, and activation of the ERTV located at Neah Bay.

This week we hear from, your host, Dan Smiley on the future of the virtual command post and how teaching, meeting, and learning online can be successful for everyone. All the same implementation, without the geographical boundaries.

Inventor of the drum skimmer, winner of the X Prize, and founder of Elastec, meet Donnie Wilson. This week we'll delve into Wilson's journey, hearing about his efforts to build the world's largest, most efficient, oil skimmer and further discuss his notion that careers do not run in a straight line.

In Episode 21 of The Tactics Meeting, I talk with Amy Duz from iWorkWise about an incident safety officer's OSHA requirements. We dive into the training and credentials required (if any) and then go down a rat hole talking about our own experiences.

In Episode 20 of The Tactics Meeting Podcast, I talk with Dr. Tom Coolbaugh about the chemistry of oil products and his journey from a bench chemist at Mobile Chemical Company to the oil spill response technology division at ExxonMobil. 

What will Clean Pacific be like this year? Should you attend in person or virtually? What is different from the pre-pandemic years?   Will the sections be streamed live? 

Cassie Davie and Carey Buchholtz from Clean Events talk to Dan Smiley about what we can expect from Clean Pacific this year. 

In this 18th episode of The Tactics Meeting, Dr. Ed Owens guides us through setting up a shoreline cleanup program and the role of SCAT.  

Should we exercise Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) during exercises? Can NRDA be separated from other response tasks?  Join me and my guest Greg Challenger, President, and Marine Scientist at Polaris Applied Sciences, Inc., as we explore the NRDA process, its interconnectedness to all things environmental, and the appropriate time to activate an RP NRDA Liaison. 

Messaging is critical to the success of a response. So how do We get it right? The news cycle used to be 12 hours, and we could plan on putting out information at a press conference. Now the news cycle is five minutes or less, so when do we activate the PIO? What information can they put out without UC approval? What do we say when asked about spill volume, dispersants, and wildlife? These are hard questions. In this episode of the tactics meeting, Sam Sacco, President of Strategy & Communications, guides us through the answers. This episode is a must listen for any member of an incident management team.