March 20, 2013
TIDES African Working Group Meetup
Washington, DC
March 28, 2013
Post Sandy Review
at NDU, Washington, D.C.
1-4pm
May, 14-16, 2013
AFCEA Joint Warfighting
VA Beach, VA
May 15, 2013
TIDES Meetup
VA Beach, VA
Contact Amy Gorman
amy.gorman.ctr
@ndu.edu
to RSVP
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Greetings!
Greetings! This issue includes a invitation to exhibit with STAR-TIDES at AFCEA Joint Warfighting, an update on the call for Humanitarian Assistance Wargaming, highlignts from Camp Roberts, an article on identifying technologies for the protection of civilians and an update on the heating solutions STAR-TIDES provided for Hurricane Sandy. Enjoy!
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Come Exhibit with us at AFCEA Joint Warfighting!
AFCEA/U.S. Naval Institute East - Joint Warfighting Conference 2013 from 14-16 May in Virginia Beach. Contact Amy Gorman, amy.gorman.ctr@ndu.edu if you are interested! |
Request to the Net: Disaster Apps
and thank you for your responses on
Humanitarian Assistance Wargaming! 
Our request to the net:
We are now looking for all the DISASTER APPs available right now. Click here to find out what apps and directories we have found so far. If you know of any disaster app directories, let us know! Please send an email to david.becker@ndu.edu with comments or suggestions.
THANK YOU!!
Last month, TIDES sent out a request to the net to find out about other games that have been done around disaster response and recovery. Thank you for your responses! Geeks without Bounds to let us know about the
Humanitarian Toolbox, an initiative NetHope and GWOB are working on with Microsoft. Click here for the Humanitarian Toolbox Prezi. James Hester from Applied History sent us information about Urgent Evoke, a free social network game designed to help people find "creative solutions to our most urgent social problems." (UrgentEvoke.com, 2013). Also thank you to Julie Mitchell who called our attention to
http://www.disasterhero.com, a game from the American College of Emergency Physicians and Legacy Interactive, funded by a grant from FEMA to educate players on disasters and how to be prepared. To read the full article on Humanitarian Assistance Wargaming, click here to the TIDES Blog! We are still taking information about humanitarian gaming, so feel free to share! Please send an email to david.becker@ndu.edu with comments or suggestions.
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Highlights from the RELIEF Field Experiments at Camp Roberts!
 This February, FEMA Deputy Administrator Serino led staff from several FEMA departments, DoD, USG, and private sector representatives to explore how to create a team to bridge communications between FEMA, DoD, HHS, voluntary organizations, and informal communities that contribute to response operations.
The RELIEF experiments identified 3 areas DOD policy could make changes to allow existing DOD assets to assist FEMA in disaster recovery and emergency response:
1. Discussion to Deploy Communications Network. FEMA and DOD could pursue discussion to deploy small, low-power omni-directional wave-relay networks and other ICT assets to funnel bandwidth into disaster impact zones, linking community disaster recovery centers (DRCs) and providing a bubble of communication for FEMA teams.
2. Discussion to use DOD-controlled Cellular Spectrum for Survivor Registration and Assistance. FEMA's communications networks are designed to provide spot coverage to specific fixed sites while the telecommunications industry rebuilds its networks (who tend to turn off cellular data services to maximize bandwidth to voice/SMS). They could use a DoD controlled cellular spectrum to provide better service to each doorstep.
3. Integration of Crowdsourced Imagery Analysis into Situational Awareness. Though the USG lacks the surge capacity to handle this rapid analysis big data after a disaster, a RELIEF experiment during Hurricane Sandy proved the concept of using crowdsourcing to perform this work, and accelerated Federal situational awareness by several days!
To read more about the results of the February RELIEF Field experiments, click here! To get involved or to learn more, contact Samuel Bendett at samuel.bendett@ndu.edu.
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Identifying Technologies for the Protection of Civilians
The STAR-TIDES network has identified products that keep people alive. A new member of the network, Protect the People (PTP), is looking at devices that keep people safe. In a conflict or disaster, lack of infrastructure increases the risk of violence and the ability for people to protect themselves. The Protection Toolkit is an initiative to identify, develop, and test off-the-grid safety devices that have the potential to improve the physical safety of populations at-risk of violence. The sample toolkit includes solar lighting (D.Light), solar and wind up radio with communal siren alert (Lifeline Technologies Trading), and signaling devices such as a high decibel whistle, pocket mirror, and day/nighttime flares (Orion Signals).
PTP would like to identify other protective devices within the STAR-TIDES network and conduct field research to test the effectiveness of these tools. What are some low-cost technologies that would better equip foreign militaries for expeditionary missions? Can satellite tracking systems, closed circuit TV systems, video surveillance, GPS, and GIS technologies be packaged into a comprehensive set of tools? Given the significant U.S. investment in training and equipping foreign militaries for these tasks, it is well worth our collective efforts. Contact Nelly Mobula, nelly.mobula@ndu.edu for your input!
To read the entire article and learn more about the Protection Toolkit, click here to the TIDES Blog
To get involved in research and forums around protection technology, please contact Sarah Williamson, Managing Director of PTP at sarah@protectppl.com.
Sarah contributed to the Army War College's just released
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 TIDES Responds with Heating Solutions for Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in late October 2012, and quickly became one of the most costly storms in United States history in terms of damage and disruption, second only to Hurricane Katrina. As millions in New York and New Jersey lost their power, relief organizations mobilized to help. Lisa Orloff, of the World Cares Center, contacted TIDES after the storm, and asked for help with heating solutions for people in Rockaway, NY, who had lost their power and heat. The TIDES team contacted their STAR-TIDES network for sustainable heating solutions to benefit the people of Rockaway that were portable, low cost, commercially available, non-electric, and safe for indoor use.
Members of the STAR-TIDES network responded with many different ideas to solve Orloff's request. Mark Apfelbacher, Director of Environmental Procurement for The Stratford Companies, responded with information about a portable catalytic space heater, and provided 1,200 of the units to World Cares Center for use to the relief effort. The propane heater is small, safe for indoor use, and retails for $45.  The Hurricane Sandy call to the network was an important realization of efforts TIDES practices. By meeting and establishing relationships before disasters strike, the first responders are better able to collaborate during emergencies.
Click here to read the entire article! |
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Sincerely,
The TIDES Project |
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