Follow the Chain of Command (RB275)

RACES Radio Officers, volunteer or paid, are part of the management in the agency for which they serve. In that role it's proper for them to network and coordinate with their counterparts in neighboring jurisdictions. This helps when one jurisdiction needs help and resources from another jurisdiction to support an incident.

However, here is where Radio Officers must be careful. It is a natural tendency to contact the other jurisdiction's Radio Officer and bypass his or her agency coordinator. This could cause irreparable damage by cutting an official out of the loop. Some may consider such an act as tantamount to "stealing" the jurisdiction's resources without their knowledge. Making sure your Radio Officer understands the proper procedure for interjurisdictional contacts avoids such a faux pas from affecting your RACES program.

During a major incident, a county RACES officer tried to reach an adjoining county Radio Officer without success. When asked if he had contacted that county's disaster director, he admitted he had not. The mutual aid might have been forthcoming if the chain of command had been followed.

In another incident the Radio Officer bypassed the agency official, went direct to the other Radio Officer and stirred up a hornets nest in the process when the authorizing official discovered his RACES unit was involved without his knowledge. While situations vary, and events change, it seems wise to be sure your Radio Officer understands your policies and procedures.