Who and erstwhile to ask for military support in the event of a crisis? How can we communicate with the army and another services in an emergency situation? Local governments and emergency service officers are trained in crisis management. The classes are led by lecturers of the Academy of War Art and WOT soldiers, who in the autumn have proven themselves in the fight against the flood, and present share experience.
In Opole Provincial Office, training with crisis management led by territorial defence troops for local government. This is the 3rd provincial office to organize specified activities for local authorities. The next training will be held in the Silesian Provincial Office in Katowice. These are the closest plans, but it's not over yet. There are more provincial offices curious in our offer. And although current crisis management training is organised under Operation Feniks, it will not mean the end of our work with local governments," explains Dominik Urbański from the press office of the Territorial Defence Command.
WOT play a central function in crisis management for the Ministry of Defence. – Territorials besides have quite a few experience due to Operation Fenix, therefore, they teach others where the military can be utilized to support state administration during crisis management," said Colonel Tomasz Pietruczuk, Head of the WOT Command Emergency Management Branch. This function of the youngest kind of armed forces besides follows from the Law on the Defence of the Motherland. Under its power, WOT is liable for crisis management (excluding military actions) for the defence department. The commander of WOT besides became head of the MON Emergency Management Centre.
The training that soldiers conduct is organized in provincial offices, but can be attended by representatives of all levels of local administration. – The interest is big, more than 50 people took part in the training in Gorzów Wielkopolski. In Wrocław, we will most likely organize them again, due to the fact that not all those willing to usage them,” says Dominik Urbański.
Ready for the crisis
The intent of the training is to prepare the local authorities for possible crisis events and to strengthen the resilience of society. The curriculum was based on experience from activities, among others during the flood which occurred last autumn in the south of Poland. The program was developed by lecturers and employees of the Academy of War Art.
Classes conducted by WOT soldiers and lecturers from the National Academy of War safety last 3 days, the first 2 being devoted mainly to lectures. The training is intended to aid local authorities systematise cognition about crisis management, statutory tasks of the armed forces and their interaction with local administration. Local governments learn, among another things, when and under what conditions the voivode may request military support in a crisis situation. Soldiers and lecturers besides discuss the communication and communication procedure in a crisis situation and the issue of IT solutions that can be used. This is, above all, already well known in the armed forces, the Jasmin system, which as an automated crisis management strategy can be utilized not only by the military, but besides by another uniform and rescue services and public administration.
The second day of training is time to practice the acquired knowledge. There are 2 alleged decision-making games in the programme that require participants to take circumstantial actions and decisions. – The script of the first game assumes a gas leak in a tiny town. It is simply a tiny crisis which, however, requires local authorities to respond and cooperate with applicable services. The second game requires coordination of various levels of crisis management: voivods, police, fire brigades, troops – explains Dominik Urbański. He adds that the participants first practice action planning, then the crisis consequence phase begins, and at the end of the training, they are waiting for their workshops, during which they learn to inform the public about the crisis.
This part of the training was attended by Wielkopolska territorialists. – We shared media experience with officials. During the crisis situation, the media and society anticipate fast and brief messages – says Captain Anna Jasińska-Pawlikowska, press spokesperson for the 12th Wielkopolska Territorial Defence Brigade. The staff of the office took on the function of individual characters of the crisis staff and had to hold a press conference. “We summarized the solutions proposed by them and advised on how to control stress in front of the camera,” added the press officer. Trainers from the 16th Lower Silesian Territorial Defence Brigade besides worked with local authorities.
First: cooperation
Localists praise WOT's initiative. – Although we know a lot, this training surely extends our skills from crisis management," says Natalia Wdowakowska from the Nysa Crisis Management Report, which participated in the last edition of the training. – It is worth adding that we have known the action Jasmin military system. We hope that it will function as part of crisis management, it will simply make life easier for us," she points out. The Jasmin system, previously utilized only in armed forces, at the time of the flood proved to be a useful tool supporting the flow of information between local governments and the military. During training, local authorities have the chance to see how the command post works and how the Jasmin strategy can be utilized in a crisis situation. – specified training is needed due to the fact that it is known that the flood will happen again. We request to be prepared, and erstwhile the representatives of all services meet, we can practice together in the event of a crisis – summarizes Maciej Podobinski, vice-star of the territory of Brest.
Training provided by the military is intended for local administration, representatives of emergency services, police and fire departments.
