AFCEA Atlanta Hosts FEMA Region IV DCO

Col. Jan Apo, USA, defense coordinating officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IV, spoke at the chapter luncheon at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, in May. Col. Apo works directly with FEMA and is the Department of Defense representative during planning and, more importantly, during disaster periods. Her job is to ensure affected people and property are rendered safe as soon as possible after an event. Region IV is the largest of the eight FEMA national regions. Col. Apo has a tremendous communication capability to coordinate with active duty bases and ISB forward basing stations. She sometimes finds her duties placing her onsite in specialized communications vehicles like the Emergency Reaction Vehicle (ERV). The colonel and her staff provided the chapter with a hands-on tour of this powerful communication command node after the lunch. Col. Apo is another example of the tremendous liaison between military and civilian agencies and an example of the vital role communications and electronics plays in daily life.

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