A select group of officers from the Barbados Police Service and the Barbados Defence Force are now better equipped to manage operations whenever the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) is activated.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, noted this after being present at the conclusion of an exercise at the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) recently.
Mr. Abrahams said the training was important as the public must never feel that Government was not in control of the situation.
“We need to know what is available and what our actual needs are. We need as much information as possible and the resources that are available,” he said.
As the officers went through the paces of the NEOC being activated for the passage of a hurricane during the exercise, Minister Abrahams used the opportunity to raise questions and concerns that could become an issue during an actual event.
“I am very impressed by the exercise. It was very close to being real, and I feel more comfortable now going into a situation,” he stated.
Director of Emergency Logistics and Policy, Colonel Glyne Grannum, explained that the training was a continuation of efforts with partners from the US Forestry Service and USAID.
It was conducted earlier this month and was designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of police and military officers designated to serve as the leaders of the DEM NEOC to improve the management of emergency and disaster events.
The areas covered were: information technology/information management systems forum; delivering a briefing to a principal or media forum; establishing the NEOC; incident reporting, recording and follow-up using the Planning P Model, and an exercise which encompassed all of the training elements.