The City of Indianapolis asked me to return as a consultant to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Emergency Management Agency during the COVID-19 outbreak. I work with Incident Management Team (IMT). I have worked continuously in the Emergency Operations Center since coming onboard March 17th. Here are some interesting facts about the Indianapolis Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which has been fully staffed (24/7) since March 17th in response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Staffing involves all city/county public safety agencies and other essential city agencies to include the private sector (utilities, Red Cross, Salvation Army);
- It is the fulcrum for response operations throughout the city of Indianapolis;
- All EOC personnel are required to wear masks inside the facility;
- Daily update briefings are conducted involving federal, state, and local partners; and
- EOC operations closely mirror military TOC operations.
My role in the EOC is one of a “greybeard.” I am the former Director of Emergency Management for the City of Indianapolis. I am also a retired faculty member of Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI) where I taught Public Safety. This is unlike any fight I have ever been in.
COL (Ret) James R. ‘Jim’ White
Army War College Fellow 1999
(Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy)
