WEBVTT 00:11.210 --> 00:13.099 Welcome to Cor Construction , the 00:13.099 --> 00:15.321 podcast of the Tulsa District us , Army 00:15.321 --> 00:17.950 Corps of Engineers . I am coming to you 00:17.959 --> 00:21.079 today from Kansas City where I am at 00:21.090 --> 00:24.670 FEMA Region seven . And I'm here with 00:24.680 --> 00:27.489 Michael Capri . Michael is the Director 00:27.500 --> 00:29.950 of External Affairs here at uh Region 00:29.959 --> 00:32.181 seven and we just had a workshop here . 00:32.389 --> 00:35.000 So , uh Michael , thank you so much for 00:35.009 --> 00:38.169 taking the time to um sit down with us 00:38.180 --> 00:40.479 and , and talk about what you do at , 00:40.950 --> 00:43.580 at FEMA region seven and like about 00:43.590 --> 00:46.189 your , your region as a whole . Yeah , 00:46.200 --> 00:48.311 sure thing , Brandon . Happy to . All 00:48.311 --> 00:50.256 right . And um we had a , we had a 00:50.256 --> 00:52.478 great workshop , um an External Affairs 00:52.478 --> 00:55.490 workshop with various agencies . Um 00:56.569 --> 00:59.319 Can you kind of give us an idea about 00:59.330 --> 01:01.759 the , the geographic region of , of 01:01.770 --> 01:04.400 what region seven encompasses and , and 01:04.419 --> 01:06.530 some of the agencies you work with in 01:06.530 --> 01:08.641 that area ? Yeah , sure thing . So FA 01:08.641 --> 01:10.530 region seven is comprised of four 01:10.530 --> 01:12.500 states here in the Midwest , the 01:12.510 --> 01:15.040 Heartland , um Iowa , Missouri , Kansas 01:15.050 --> 01:17.650 and Nebraska . And we also have nine 01:17.660 --> 01:19.604 federally recognized tribes in our 01:19.604 --> 01:22.099 region as well . Um Our headquarters is 01:22.110 --> 01:24.930 here in Kansas City , Missouri and as 01:24.940 --> 01:27.162 you were saying , this week , we hosted 01:27.162 --> 01:29.879 a workshop for our ES F-15 which is 01:29.889 --> 01:31.839 emergency support function . 15 01:31.930 --> 01:34.097 essentially means public information , 01:34.097 --> 01:35.874 you know , communicators . Um a 01:35.874 --> 01:38.540 workshop for that group that we have . 01:38.550 --> 01:40.779 So we're talking about all the federal 01:40.790 --> 01:43.273 departments that have some people piece 01:43.282 --> 01:46.182 of region seven . So examples would be 01:46.242 --> 01:49.892 EPA uh USDA Department of Agriculture . 01:49.902 --> 01:52.013 Of course , our partners at the Corps 01:52.013 --> 01:53.846 of Engineers , various districts 01:53.846 --> 01:55.569 throughout the region . We had 01:55.569 --> 01:57.846 representation from the Omaha District , 01:57.846 --> 01:59.958 of course , Kansas City right here at 01:59.958 --> 02:01.846 home . Um the Tulsa district , uh 02:01.846 --> 02:03.722 Little Rock and we had uh 02:03.733 --> 02:05.789 representatives from the Saint Louis 02:05.789 --> 02:07.900 district that participated remotely . 02:07.900 --> 02:09.844 So , um in addition to our federal 02:09.844 --> 02:12.066 partners , our state Public Information 02:12.066 --> 02:13.900 Officer . So talking about state 02:13.900 --> 02:15.900 emergency management , um those are 02:15.900 --> 02:18.122 part of that working group as well . So 02:18.122 --> 02:20.011 we have representatives from both 02:20.011 --> 02:22.066 Nebraska and Missouri that were here 02:22.066 --> 02:24.122 and we had colleagues from Iowa that 02:24.122 --> 02:26.066 and , and Kansas that participated 02:26.066 --> 02:28.177 remotely . So that gives you a little 02:28.177 --> 02:30.122 bit of an idea of what that , that 02:30.122 --> 02:32.344 working group looks like . So all those 02:32.344 --> 02:34.289 communicators , the public affairs 02:34.289 --> 02:36.511 types for those partners that have some 02:36.511 --> 02:38.733 piece of region seven uh the , the room 02:38.733 --> 02:42.100 we're in right now is the uh regional 02:42.110 --> 02:45.559 response um Coordinations Center . Yeah . 02:45.580 --> 02:47.524 Yeah , that's right . Our regional 02:47.524 --> 02:49.636 response Coordinations center kind of 02:49.636 --> 02:51.580 think of it as an EOC or emergency 02:51.580 --> 02:54.119 operation center and this room when 02:54.130 --> 02:56.660 activated . So if there was like 02:56.669 --> 02:58.613 impending severe weather . We were 02:58.613 --> 03:00.836 expecting to have , you know , possible 03:00.836 --> 03:02.947 tornado activity . The decision could 03:02.947 --> 03:05.203 be made to activate our , our RCC , our 03:05.212 --> 03:07.379 Regional Response Coordinations Center 03:07.379 --> 03:09.101 in which we would bring in the 03:09.101 --> 03:11.382 applicable ESFS or emergency support 03:11.393 --> 03:13.615 function partners . Like for instance , 03:13.615 --> 03:15.726 the National Weather Service would be 03:15.726 --> 03:17.504 here thinking about the core of 03:17.504 --> 03:19.563 engineers if we had an incident that 03:19.572 --> 03:21.739 occurred and let's say there was gonna 03:21.739 --> 03:24.072 be a power or debris mission , we might 03:24.082 --> 03:27.046 bring in esf three partners here . So 03:27.055 --> 03:29.695 it just depends upon the nature of the 03:29.705 --> 03:32.126 event , whatever that um that incident , 03:32.136 --> 03:34.475 you know , possibly look like flooding 03:34.576 --> 03:36.798 severe weather . We've been seeing more 03:36.798 --> 03:39.020 and more fires in our region , but this 03:39.020 --> 03:41.020 room is really about coordinating , 03:41.020 --> 03:43.187 coordinating amongst the interagency , 03:43.187 --> 03:45.132 federal partners . Um Just so that 03:45.132 --> 03:47.243 we're here talking together , working 03:47.243 --> 03:49.409 together and um and if we need to push 03:49.409 --> 03:51.576 stuff down range to the field , that's 03:51.576 --> 03:53.687 where that's occurring is here . When 03:53.687 --> 03:55.854 you , have you seen , you've seen this 03:55.854 --> 03:57.798 room in action , I imagine several 03:57.798 --> 03:59.798 times in your career here . And how 03:59.798 --> 04:01.965 long have you been here ? So I've been 04:01.965 --> 04:04.187 with FEMA region seven for 12 years and 04:04.187 --> 04:06.354 over the 12 years , we've had numerous 04:06.354 --> 04:08.339 responses . Um The last time I can 04:08.350 --> 04:10.183 really think of this room up and 04:10.183 --> 04:12.294 running . With the exception of COVID 04:12.294 --> 04:14.350 uh COVID , we were activated for the 04:14.350 --> 04:16.572 first couple of weeks and then when the 04:16.572 --> 04:18.683 decision was made to do remote work , 04:18.683 --> 04:20.906 everyone went home . But in those early 04:20.906 --> 04:20.569 weeks . I'm thinking back now to like 04:20.579 --> 04:23.509 March of 2020 we had a lot of federal 04:23.519 --> 04:27.148 partners here . HHS CDC . Of 04:27.158 --> 04:30.569 course . Um We had partners at our um 04:30.579 --> 04:33.098 Cyber Infrastructure Security Agency , 04:33.239 --> 04:35.350 uh just other partners in the room in 04:35.350 --> 04:38.308 2019 when we had significant flooding 04:38.319 --> 04:40.486 along the Missouri river that resulted 04:40.486 --> 04:42.375 in major disaster declarations in 04:42.375 --> 04:44.670 Nebraska , Iowa and Missouri , our 04:44.679 --> 04:46.846 regional response coordinations center 04:46.846 --> 04:48.901 was activated and you know , to give 04:48.901 --> 04:51.350 you an idea , Epa at the time , had AES 04:51.359 --> 04:54.070 F 10 mission . They uh we had a problem 04:54.079 --> 04:56.079 with the Orphan Drums , essentially 04:56.079 --> 04:58.320 propane tanks that were floating along 04:58.329 --> 05:00.496 the Missouri River . So that obviously 05:00.496 --> 05:02.607 was a hazardous material concern . So 05:02.607 --> 05:04.829 we bring in our ESF 10 partners here to 05:04.829 --> 05:07.910 coordinate with us . Um USDA , we had a 05:07.920 --> 05:10.087 significant challenge uh especially in 05:10.087 --> 05:13.170 Nebraska with a lot of so that had um 05:13.179 --> 05:15.500 unfortunately died due to uh blizzard 05:15.510 --> 05:17.510 conditions . And um there was a , a 05:17.510 --> 05:19.566 pretty large carcass removal program 05:19.566 --> 05:21.788 which I admit I was not familiar with . 05:21.788 --> 05:23.954 Um That's the point of this uh of this 05:23.954 --> 05:25.954 Coordinations Center is to bring in 05:25.954 --> 05:28.177 those partners that , that do have that 05:28.177 --> 05:27.850 area of focus . So we can just better 05:27.859 --> 05:30.059 coordinate uh from the , from the 05:30.070 --> 05:32.292 workshop we had where we brought in all 05:32.292 --> 05:34.459 those people . Um I , I know , I think 05:34.459 --> 05:36.737 you've held a couple of those maybe in , 05:36.737 --> 05:39.014 in the pa in the last uh several years . 05:39.014 --> 05:41.126 I know it's been a little while since 05:41.126 --> 05:43.348 we've all gotten together . But what do 05:43.348 --> 05:45.459 you feel like you learn every time we 05:45.459 --> 05:47.459 have one of these events ? Well , I 05:47.459 --> 05:49.459 think that the most important piece 05:49.459 --> 05:51.626 when you think about turnover and um , 05:51.626 --> 05:53.626 just changing in personnel is get , 05:53.626 --> 05:55.848 getting everyone up to speed on , on ES 05:55.848 --> 05:58.014 F-15 emergency support function 15 and 05:58.014 --> 06:00.640 how it's organized . So that if and 06:00.649 --> 06:03.089 when we do need to work together in 06:03.100 --> 06:05.044 that type of environment , there's 06:05.044 --> 06:07.211 familiarity , there's familiarity with 06:07.211 --> 06:09.378 the terms that we use . You know , you 06:09.378 --> 06:11.100 talk about the GIC , the joint 06:11.100 --> 06:12.989 information center and how that's 06:12.989 --> 06:14.878 organized congressional affairs , 06:14.878 --> 06:16.989 private sector , all of those aspects 06:16.989 --> 06:19.540 that comprise ES F-15 . So I think 06:19.549 --> 06:21.609 there's real value in periodically 06:21.619 --> 06:23.820 providing those updates , answering 06:23.829 --> 06:26.162 questions that partners have , you know , 06:26.162 --> 06:28.440 for us at fema , we live in that world . 06:28.440 --> 06:30.662 So it's , it's really easy for us , but 06:30.662 --> 06:32.829 for other federal partners that aren't 06:32.829 --> 06:34.829 dealing with um you know , disaster 06:34.829 --> 06:36.718 activity response and recovery as 06:36.718 --> 06:38.885 frequently as we are , these terms can 06:38.885 --> 06:40.996 be um you know , kind of foreign . So 06:40.996 --> 06:42.996 we just wanna get uh everyone up to 06:42.996 --> 06:44.829 speed practice together and then 06:44.829 --> 06:46.940 forging relationships just getting to 06:46.940 --> 06:46.929 know folks , you know , we often talk 06:46.940 --> 06:49.107 about uh you don't wanna exchange your 06:49.107 --> 06:51.384 business card at a disaster , you know , 06:51.384 --> 06:53.551 the extent to which we can get to know 06:53.551 --> 06:52.940 each other before . And I think there's 06:52.950 --> 06:54.950 a lot of value in that sharing best 06:54.950 --> 06:56.561 practices , you know , these 06:56.561 --> 06:58.561 communicators that are part of this 06:58.561 --> 07:00.672 group all have a tremendous amount of 07:00.672 --> 07:02.728 experience . So I think there's real 07:02.728 --> 07:05.006 value to that . And just , um you know , 07:05.006 --> 07:04.480 it's kind of like that old adage of uh 07:04.489 --> 07:06.656 iron , sharpening iron , you just want 07:06.656 --> 07:08.950 to learn from each other . I um so our , 07:09.480 --> 07:11.591 our , our , the way our districts and 07:11.591 --> 07:14.160 our regions um work kind of for the 07:14.170 --> 07:17.100 core and then for , for , for F MA or 07:17.109 --> 07:19.459 for even the EPA , there's , there's 07:19.470 --> 07:21.637 like overlap , but it's not like the , 07:21.637 --> 07:23.803 the same exact boundary because like a 07:23.803 --> 07:25.581 lot of hours are , are based on 07:25.581 --> 07:27.940 watersheds and , and where water goes . 07:27.950 --> 07:30.290 Um And then , and then the military 07:30.299 --> 07:32.632 construction missions are different but , 07:32.632 --> 07:34.521 but in terms of um like our , our 07:34.521 --> 07:36.743 district , so we have the southern half 07:36.743 --> 07:40.250 of Kansas from Council Grove South . 07:40.260 --> 07:43.670 Basically that , that swath of Kansas . 07:43.880 --> 07:47.790 Um I , I if , if , if something goes 07:47.799 --> 07:49.966 on in , in , in that particular region 07:49.966 --> 07:51.966 of Kansas , something comes through 07:51.966 --> 07:54.021 Wichita or , or through another area 07:54.021 --> 07:56.188 and we have to respond , you , you all 07:56.188 --> 07:58.077 take over as because this is your 07:58.077 --> 08:00.243 region , you all take over in terms of 08:00.243 --> 08:03.690 the , the fa response to that . And um 08:03.700 --> 08:05.867 what kind of coordinating do you think 08:05.867 --> 08:08.089 would , would go on there between our , 08:08.089 --> 08:10.256 our two depart , our two departments ? 08:10.256 --> 08:12.478 Yeah , we would be respon for emergency 08:12.478 --> 08:14.589 management from the federal level for 08:14.589 --> 08:16.700 any type of incident that takes place 08:16.700 --> 08:18.922 in Kansas , Iowa , Missouri or Nebraska 08:18.922 --> 08:18.750 and I mentioned those um tribal 08:18.760 --> 08:20.927 partners in our region as well . Now , 08:20.927 --> 08:22.760 when you think about events that 08:22.760 --> 08:24.760 potentially cross the state lines , 08:24.760 --> 08:26.982 let's say , you know , Oklahoma , which 08:26.982 --> 08:29.149 is in Fema region six , Kansas , which 08:29.149 --> 08:31.149 is FEMA region seven here . Um It , 08:31.149 --> 08:31.070 it's just at that point , kind of like 08:31.079 --> 08:33.309 a matter of coordinating and us um 08:33.320 --> 08:35.960 working with the the region and uh the 08:35.969 --> 08:38.191 other region like in that instance , it 08:38.191 --> 08:40.358 would be um FEMA region six . If there 08:40.358 --> 08:42.525 were similar types of weather events , 08:42.525 --> 08:44.413 I would note though that disaster 08:44.413 --> 08:46.580 declarations have to be requested by a 08:46.580 --> 08:48.802 governor . So whether it's the governor 08:48.802 --> 08:50.802 of Oklahoma Kansas just to use this 08:50.802 --> 08:52.913 example . Um That's where our primary 08:52.913 --> 08:54.969 focus would be is in helping the the 08:54.969 --> 08:57.191 States and then bringing the applicable 08:57.191 --> 08:59.358 Army Corps districts alongside us . Um 08:59.358 --> 09:01.525 It was actually a couple weeks ago , I 09:01.525 --> 09:03.858 wanna say before the holidays . So yeah , 09:03.858 --> 09:03.390 it was more than a couple of weeks ago , 09:03.630 --> 09:05.519 but we were down in Coffeyville , 09:05.519 --> 09:08.369 Kansas in like the extreme southeastern 09:08.380 --> 09:11.530 portion of the state and uh a colleague 09:11.539 --> 09:13.650 of yours . Um Bill Smiley , I believe 09:13.650 --> 09:16.059 his name was . We were , yeah , we were 09:16.070 --> 09:18.237 coordinating with , there was a lot of 09:18.237 --> 09:20.380 concern regarding a levy in the area 09:20.479 --> 09:22.989 and the amount of protection it was or 09:23.000 --> 09:25.239 was not or is not providing to the 09:25.250 --> 09:27.417 community and what that could mean for 09:27.417 --> 09:29.583 them from a safety perspective . Uh We 09:29.583 --> 09:31.639 got asked to come down there to talk 09:31.639 --> 09:33.750 about possible grant opportunities in 09:33.750 --> 09:35.861 any F MA grant dollars they could use 09:35.861 --> 09:38.139 to help the area become more resilient . 09:38.139 --> 09:40.250 Um But we really coordinate well with 09:40.250 --> 09:42.417 our partners in the Tulsa district and 09:42.417 --> 09:44.306 it was a AAA meeting with um city 09:44.306 --> 09:46.580 officials . Um There were , I think 09:46.590 --> 09:48.701 members of like the county commission 09:48.701 --> 09:50.757 that were there . Um Senator Moran's 09:50.757 --> 09:52.868 office of Kansas really helped to put 09:52.868 --> 09:55.359 it together . So it was uh a number of 09:55.369 --> 09:57.739 officials in the area . And uh I think 09:57.750 --> 09:59.750 it went really well , you know , we 09:59.750 --> 10:01.861 just talked through the possibilities 10:01.861 --> 10:04.083 um that exist and uh and , and the core 10:04.083 --> 10:06.194 from the federal perspective , really 10:06.194 --> 10:08.194 led that discussion . But uh but it 10:08.194 --> 10:10.306 went really well , what do you , what 10:10.306 --> 10:12.194 do you enjoy most about ? Because 10:12.194 --> 10:14.417 you've been , you worked for F MA in um 10:14.417 --> 10:16.639 Washington DC before coming out here to 10:16.639 --> 10:18.750 uh uh Kansas City . Um What , what do 10:18.750 --> 10:20.972 you , what do you most enjoy about your 10:20.972 --> 10:23.119 work with Fe Ma ? Yeah . So for seven 10:23.130 --> 10:25.241 years , I worked at the Department of 10:25.241 --> 10:27.352 Homeland Security Headquarters in the 10:27.352 --> 10:29.352 Legislative affairs office fa being 10:29.352 --> 10:31.297 part of the department , but I was 10:31.297 --> 10:34.159 always working on F MA items . Uh but 10:34.169 --> 10:36.570 just at the departmental level . So my 10:36.580 --> 10:38.691 experience at that , at that point in 10:38.691 --> 10:40.940 my life was very much kind of policy 10:40.950 --> 10:42.849 oriented . So worked a lot with 10:42.859 --> 10:45.270 oversight committees , a lot of 10:45.280 --> 10:47.336 legislative stuff , appropriations , 10:47.336 --> 10:49.224 which I find of interest . It was 10:49.224 --> 10:51.447 interesting . Um But you know , you get 10:51.447 --> 10:53.613 kind of tired putting together talking 10:53.613 --> 10:55.947 points and working at that higher level , 10:55.947 --> 10:58.239 reviewing testimony and having since 10:58.250 --> 11:00.417 come out to F MA for the past 12 years 11:00.417 --> 11:02.417 now , it's been great getting to be 11:02.417 --> 11:04.472 more hands on what I mean by that is 11:04.472 --> 11:07.229 actually deploying out after a disaster 11:07.239 --> 11:09.183 which of course none of us want to 11:09.183 --> 11:11.295 occur , but to the extent that we can 11:11.295 --> 11:13.350 help people bounce back , you know , 11:13.350 --> 11:15.072 just kind of point them on the 11:15.072 --> 11:17.183 direction forward . It's just a great 11:17.183 --> 11:19.406 sense of um it's a great feeling inside 11:19.406 --> 11:21.572 the , the , the extent to which we can 11:21.572 --> 11:23.295 help people in those difficult 11:23.295 --> 11:25.609 situations . So that's been a great 11:25.619 --> 11:27.786 experience for me having come out to F 11:27.786 --> 11:30.008 MA and deployed within the region , you 11:30.008 --> 11:31.952 know , Nebraska , Missouri Iowa in 11:31.952 --> 11:33.952 particular , we just haven't had as 11:33.952 --> 11:36.119 many and I'm , I'm knocking on wood as 11:36.119 --> 11:38.341 I'm saying this as many larger disaster 11:38.341 --> 11:40.452 declarations in Kansas in the past 12 11:40.452 --> 11:42.563 years , but also deploying outside of 11:42.563 --> 11:44.730 the region . Um 1617 and 18 , I was in 11:44.730 --> 11:47.890 Florida after Matthew Irma and Michael 11:47.900 --> 11:50.080 assisting with the response there , 11:50.090 --> 11:52.312 Louisiana over the years , New Jersey , 11:52.312 --> 11:54.799 et cetera . So just a real sense of , 11:54.809 --> 11:58.280 of value um in helping folks more hands 11:58.289 --> 12:01.359 on as , as you know , as much as you 12:01.369 --> 12:03.480 want to get out and help people . And 12:03.480 --> 12:06.479 um as much as I like , I enjoyed , I 12:06.489 --> 12:08.770 know I've enjoyed my , my deployments 12:08.780 --> 12:11.150 uh with the core through fema through 12:11.159 --> 12:12.992 mission , task orders or mission 12:12.992 --> 12:15.450 assigned task orders . Um There's 12:15.460 --> 12:17.516 something exciting about going and , 12:17.516 --> 12:19.682 and , and , and trying to be able to , 12:19.682 --> 12:21.460 to do something good and that's 12:21.460 --> 12:23.520 something I've talked to people um 12:23.530 --> 12:27.510 about and you know , what , what I , 12:27.520 --> 12:30.500 what really struck me , um , while we 12:30.510 --> 12:32.510 were here for the workshop was that 12:32.510 --> 12:35.309 like , I was on a mission and there was 12:35.320 --> 12:38.020 a , a fe a person who I , who was , who 12:38.030 --> 12:40.320 was in the , the area of operation 12:40.419 --> 12:43.239 there with me , uh Arianna French and I 12:43.250 --> 12:45.472 hadn't met her face to face . We'd only 12:45.472 --> 12:47.528 spoken on the phone . But when I was 12:47.528 --> 12:49.309 coming over to , to uh for my 12:49.320 --> 12:51.431 deployment , I was told , hey , she's 12:51.431 --> 12:53.542 your point person to go and she ended 12:53.542 --> 12:55.653 up being on a different island than I 12:55.653 --> 12:57.876 was on . But , um , it was kind of neat 12:57.876 --> 12:59.931 to finally meet her . And then I met 12:59.931 --> 13:02.153 people from the core that I haven't met 13:02.153 --> 13:01.859 who are , who are , they're in 13:01.869 --> 13:03.702 different divisions or different 13:03.702 --> 13:05.813 districts as well . But , um , I just 13:05.813 --> 13:07.925 find that kind of cool about what you 13:07.925 --> 13:10.091 guys put together while we were here . 13:10.091 --> 13:12.313 And I , I just think it was , it was so 13:12.313 --> 13:14.480 great , you know , and , and you , you 13:14.480 --> 13:16.591 and your staff with , uh with Barb uh 13:16.591 --> 13:20.539 Sterner and , um , and uh Hannah , uh 13:20.590 --> 13:23.280 in , in Dallas , you guys did such a 13:23.289 --> 13:25.345 great job and I , I just want to say 13:25.345 --> 13:27.400 thank you for , for making it such a 13:27.400 --> 13:29.567 good experience for us because I think 13:29.567 --> 13:31.400 we all benefited . Yeah . No , I 13:31.400 --> 13:33.567 appreciate that . You know , I think F 13:33.567 --> 13:35.845 ma um we have such a great mission and , 13:35.845 --> 13:37.845 you know , it sounds kind of simple 13:37.845 --> 13:39.789 helping people before , during and 13:39.789 --> 13:41.900 after disasters , but , but it really 13:41.900 --> 13:44.067 is a great mission and bringing in our 13:44.067 --> 13:46.122 federal partners . Whether it's like 13:46.122 --> 13:45.989 you were just saying , Brandon , a 13:46.000 --> 13:47.944 mission assignment to the Corps of 13:47.944 --> 13:50.000 Engineers , Environmental Protection 13:50.000 --> 13:51.944 Agency , whoever it might be in my 13:51.944 --> 13:54.111 experience when we're working together 13:54.111 --> 13:56.333 in that response environment , everyone 13:56.333 --> 13:58.444 is in it for the affected community . 13:58.444 --> 14:00.111 Everybody wants to help those 14:00.111 --> 14:02.278 neighborhoods and individuals that are 14:02.278 --> 14:04.739 looking for some type of direction 14:04.750 --> 14:06.911 forward and , you know , some type of 14:06.921 --> 14:09.331 help . Um So I think it's a , it's a 14:09.341 --> 14:12.271 great area to , to work in and to 14:12.281 --> 14:14.492 include our um our federal partners 14:14.502 --> 14:17.151 that will go out and uh and do that 14:17.161 --> 14:19.591 type of uh that , that type of work and 14:19.601 --> 14:21.823 from a communicator perspective , which 14:21.823 --> 14:23.934 we're really focused on here , public 14:23.934 --> 14:25.934 information . Um You know , it's so 14:25.934 --> 14:28.157 important and when we think about being 14:28.157 --> 14:29.990 coordinate as a federal family , 14:29.990 --> 14:32.323 whether you're responding in , you know , 14:32.323 --> 14:34.268 Louisiana , Puerto Rico , Hawaii , 14:34.268 --> 14:36.490 wherever it might be the extent that we 14:36.490 --> 14:36.393 can stay co ordinated together and 14:36.403 --> 14:38.684 speak with one federal voice 14:38.693 --> 14:40.582 understanding . Of course , every 14:40.582 --> 14:42.637 department and agency is gonna wanna 14:42.637 --> 14:44.804 talk about their unique activities and 14:44.804 --> 14:47.026 uh and that's , you know , totally , um 14:47.026 --> 14:49.082 not just fine but understand we , we 14:49.082 --> 14:51.304 wanna be able to highlight those uh but 14:51.304 --> 14:51.244 to be able to do it in a coordinate way . 14:51.374 --> 14:53.707 So when we push stuff out to the public , 14:53.707 --> 14:55.930 we're not tripping over each other . Um 14:55.930 --> 14:58.041 We have our act together and really , 14:58.041 --> 15:00.152 that's the entire idea behind F-15 in 15:00.152 --> 15:02.374 trainings like this so that we are able 15:02.374 --> 15:04.945 to just become better coordinate . And 15:04.955 --> 15:07.288 uh yeah , it was a great couple of days . 15:07.288 --> 15:09.455 I really appreciate yourself and , and 15:09.455 --> 15:11.344 everyone that came out and stayed 15:11.344 --> 15:13.566 engaged really provided inputs . Um You 15:13.566 --> 15:15.622 know , sometimes with these types of 15:15.622 --> 15:17.733 trainings , folks can kind of just uh 15:17.733 --> 15:17.635 well , I'm just kind of like here along 15:17.645 --> 15:19.867 for the ride . Uh but not the case this 15:19.867 --> 15:22.034 week , there was real genuine um input 15:22.034 --> 15:24.201 and uh that's really valuable from our 15:24.201 --> 15:26.201 perspective . And I think for , for 15:26.201 --> 15:29.229 everyone , um what have I not asked you 15:29.239 --> 15:31.239 that I should have asked you during 15:31.239 --> 15:33.406 this interview ? I think you covered a 15:33.406 --> 15:35.572 lot . Uh And there's nothing else that 15:35.572 --> 15:37.628 I can really think of . I appreciate 15:37.628 --> 15:37.599 the way that you , you know , you asked 15:37.609 --> 15:40.340 about the , the workshop this week um 15:40.349 --> 15:42.405 about the work that we do . Um But I 15:42.405 --> 15:44.182 think you were pretty uh pretty 15:44.182 --> 15:47.270 thorough . Well , hey , thank you so 15:47.280 --> 15:50.479 much for , for , for , for um doing 15:50.489 --> 15:52.711 this interview with me . I know we just 15:52.711 --> 15:54.545 had a uh three days of , of , of 15:54.545 --> 15:56.767 workshop and , and like I said , it was 15:56.767 --> 15:58.989 great . It was energetic energizing for 15:58.989 --> 16:01.100 me . I certainly , I certainly walked 16:01.100 --> 16:03.211 away with a much better understanding 16:03.211 --> 16:06.650 of , of , of , not only uh F MA but 16:06.820 --> 16:08.876 what some of those other agencies do 16:08.876 --> 16:11.042 who are ? Well , I'm a , I'm a big fan 16:11.042 --> 16:13.209 of the Corps of Engineers . I've got a 16:13.209 --> 16:15.320 Corps of Engineers jacket that was um 16:15.320 --> 16:17.487 uh provided to me back in , I think it 16:17.487 --> 16:19.659 was 13 or 14 , Rainie Brunson at the 16:19.669 --> 16:21.613 headquarters . I'll put together a 16:21.613 --> 16:23.336 training . Maybe it was like a 16:23.336 --> 16:25.502 certification exercise or something in 16:25.502 --> 16:27.391 Saint Louis . And myself and Barb 16:27.391 --> 16:29.558 Sterner came out to provide an ES F-15 16:29.558 --> 16:31.613 training and as a , as kind of a , a 16:31.613 --> 16:33.502 nice gesture , the they gave us a 16:33.502 --> 16:35.613 windbreaker , one of those bright red 16:35.613 --> 16:37.836 and white windbreakers . So I've , I've 16:37.836 --> 16:40.002 got that in my closet and um uh really 16:40.002 --> 16:42.058 proud to have it . And uh you know , 16:42.058 --> 16:41.570 just can't say enough thing about the 16:41.580 --> 16:43.524 Corps of Engineers . Great , great 16:43.524 --> 16:45.747 partners . Well , if you ever decide to 16:45.747 --> 16:47.969 have to wear that thing full time , let 16:47.969 --> 16:50.024 us know , maybe you can . Ok . Thank 16:50.024 --> 16:52.136 you for joining us for construction . 16:52.136 --> 16:54.136 Construction is a production of the 16:54.136 --> 16:56.024 Tulsa District US , Army Corps of 16:56.024 --> 16:58.191 Engineers Public Affairs office . This 16:58.191 --> 17:00.302 episode of construction is brought to 17:00.302 --> 17:02.302 you by Federal Emergency Management 17:02.302 --> 17:05.319 Agency Region . Seven External Affairs . 17:05.880 --> 17:08.560 Thank you for joining us and have a 17:08.569 --> 17:09.750 great day .