IMO destabilization is going to get worse before it gets better thanks to the perfect storm of activism, social media, elections (regardless of what the outcome was, one side or another was going to exceed their tolerance threshold), and coronavirus and it’s incoherent response. Nine missed meals from anarchy still applies as people get desperate.

Given the dirty bomb threat in Nashville earlier in the year, and experiences with even just the dust post 9/11, I was surprised not to see officers on bodycam don full face respirators and dosimeters along with their plate carriers after the Nashville bombing, I would have thought that would be SOP at this point for any bomb related urban attack.

I posted this on another forum re: lessons learned after Nashville

1. You may have to leave your residence with < 15min notice including the possibility of not having one to return to. A BOB may not be so passè after all, nor does it necessarily need to be wilderness oriented, but certainly should contain enough cash for a hotel, backups of important documents and so on.

2. It is a good idea to have a prepaid phone or sim card that uses a different carrier technology (GSM or CDMA), in this case GSM services were disrupted over the region not directly due to the blast but as power and gas was cut to the building as a safety precaution to repair crews and public safety. Service in several surrounding states was affected as well.

3. A surprising number of 911 call centers in the surrounding city and counties were unable to accept calls even if you had a cell phone that wasn’t affected, because those EMA agencies relied utterly on one carrier. The internal CAD data systems were likewise down because the tablets in individual vehicles used sim cards on the GSM network. Radios were unaffected, but the public was told to use dispatches 10 digit administrative line instead of 911 if they had an emergency on local news and social media. This is quickly inundated.

4. Some stores in surrounding counties including big box chain like Walmart unable to process card transactions and request cash only

5. Pre-planned contingencies were inadequate or missing in some areas (see above) but in others these were triggered, resulting in access to major exits in the city being blocked by law enforcement. Had this been a precursor to a larger attack, with further explosions (recall Nashville was rumored to be the target of a dirty bomb earlier in the year after a full page ad was taken out threatening one) movement through the city in the ensuing panic would have been difficult and people may have had to shelter in place instead.

6. Monitoring social media, where possible, is a faster way of obtaining up to date information than the news (such as 911 being down and what number to dial instead). The downside is there are a lot of rumors as well. Alternate means of communication (Spot, prepaid Satphone, Ham radio, FRS/GMRS radios etc) may be worth considering as a backup, if additional attacks occurred the remaining cell network would be quickly saturated.

7. Video footage showed an officer interacting with a person walking their dog nearby, despite audible warnings to evacuate, followed by detonation knocking them off their feet. Have access to an IFAK even during such mundane activities, and certainly should you decide to partake in them near a talking bomb

8. If there are volunteer public safety opportunities in your area, becoming a member may be advantageous by granting you access via networking and word of mouth from colleagues on shift to information not yet widely distributed. You may also have access to other benefits in exchange for your service such as priority access to vaccinations and availability of first responder sim cards that give them priority when networks are up but saturated.

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On another note, I am discovering time and time again on the emergency management side that local, state and federal organizations whose day job it is to prepare for contingencies do not have things as well in hand as the average person would assume. The state of our “strategic” national stockpile is an example, along with reliance on just in time logistics and overseas sources for mission critical items like PPE. It’s unfortunate that it takes a pandemic to bring these glaring issues to light, as a year on and NIOSH approved N95 and better masks still aren’t widely available or distributed. It definitely validates the need to hope for the best from the state... but prepare for the worst. Did you know that something like 80% of the entire planet’s IV supplies came from a single source in Puerto Rico? I didn’t either until Hurricane Maria knocked it offline... and a 10 year old could have told you it’s a bad idea not to distribute that asset, and we don’t pay 10 year olds hundreds of millions every year for contingency planning.

In the wake of 9/11, Katrina, Puerto Rico, Sandy, Coronavirus, it is more clear than ever that the most robust approach possible is from both ends: the state continuing to get better at their response and staying vigilant so as not to forget the perishable lessons learned, and for the individual to understand that despite the best of intentions public safety cannot be everywhere at once and you are on your own until they can arrive. If even a little preparation becomes commonplace among the average people in a culture rather than the exception we will go a long way to being able to tackle any existential challenge we may encounter!