We deal on a national level at the moment – sharing information from agency to agency. The MASAS project is making great progress and generating a lot of buzz. Some would say, and they have, that we have “nailed it”.
To me, “nailed it” means that a job is done. In the case of MASAS and the broader MASAS ecosystem, it means that the job is just getting started.
MASAS is focused right now on inter-agency information sharing. A lot of that activity is based on pushing key reports (SITREPs, notifications, requests). Though we have interest from tri-services in many places they deal with a level of tactical SA that is truly amazing.
Take a rip through this Tracking of Personnel article to get an idea of how tough maintaining tactical SA can get.
Rich Casaway (bio and blog here) is hard core first responder. He’s a leader in the first responder community – over 30 years of first responder experience and a PhD focused on SA. His blog provides a very impressive and passionate guide for maintaining high levels of situational awareness.
I’m particularly amazed at the depth of thought that has gone into the comms guidance – in 13 words a radio briefing can provide perfect SA on the activities of a small crew:
RADIO: Captain 1, with 3, on Attack in the basement. Conditions are not improving.
- Providing the Who (captain plus crew of 3), Where (basement), Why (on Attack), and What (update on conditions). As Rich calls it: Personal identifier + crew size + location + update report
Impressive …