By Richard Golstein

The Food for Thought Luncheon on Wednesday in the Baltimore Convention Center gave APCO 2019 attendees a taste of the FCC’s role in emergency response and America’s first female jet fighter pilot delivered advice for managing a high stress work environment.

The meeting also recognized emergency communications agencies that have achieved their Agency Training Program Certification from APCO this year as well as a pitch for APCO 2020 in Orlando.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel described the rapid and professional response by the Alexandria Department of Emergency Communications to the 2017 congressional softball shooting.

“On my very first day back to the FCC, I went to the 9-1-1 call center in Alexandria, Virginia. I started my return to public service by talking to public safety,’’ Rosenworcel said.

Rosenworcel said her travels to emergency communications centers across the country reinforce her believe that the 911 Saves Act, which reclassifies public safety telecommunicators as protective service occupations, should become law.

“We have to fix this and give 9-1-1 operators the dignity they deserve,” Rosenworcel said. “When crises mount, they answer every call with steely calm and make sure that help is on the way. … They are everyday heroes.”

Rosenworcel said the FCC can play an important role in limiting outages for public safety communications. She said the agency must speed up its assessment in the wake of disasters, such as hurricanes that cause outages. She also said emergency communications centers must be among the first to be informed of outages when they occur. Read Rosenworcel’s comments.

APCO Executive Director & CEO Derek Poarch followed Rosenworcel’s presentation with recognition of agency’s nationwide who have earned their Agency Training Program Certification from APCO this year. See a list of agency programs certified by APCO.

“Ongoing training for public safety telecommunicators is most important due to rapid advances in both technology and the expectations of the general public,” Poarch said. “Certification of an agency’s training standards by APCO demonstrates the agency’s commitment to meeting national standards and represents a major accomplishment for the agency, its staff and the community it serves.”

Ricky Rowell, of the Florida APCO Chapter and chair of APCO 2020, talked about next year’s convention in Orlando.

“The sunshine state has lots to offer: from shopping, dining and theme parks to the everglades and alligators — Go Gators!” Rowell said. “Of course, in Orlando we also have someone that no kid or adult will want to miss, but we are not going to mention any names —Mickey Mouse.”

Caitlin Clark-Zigmond, director of marketing-public sector for Verizon, introduced the keynote speaker and expressed her company’s affinity for the work of public safety communications.

“In the Verizon credo we state that we run to a crisis. And I believe that everyone in this room operates by that same creed,” she said. “That’s why Verizon and the public safety community work together so effectively. We each understand the challenges that come with responding to emergencies and we each step up to meet those challenges when they arise.”

Carey Lohrenz, a former Naval fighter pilot, vividly described what it was like to function under the stress necessary to accomplish missions in the world’s most advanced aircraft. At the same time, she outlined the resistance she overcame to reach the top of her field and how lessons from her career apply to public safety communications.

In addition to flying fighter jets on and off aircraft carriers, she was expected to manage hundreds of sailors and Marines. The typical seaman was 19 years old, and the turnover was 100 percent over the course of 18 months. Meanwhile, she had to change jobs every three to four months. The circumstances made for a series of jobs that often left her grasping for the right move.

She said her training equipped her to deal with the pushes and pulls.

“The Navy takes ordinary people like myself, and in a very short time have us operating at a very high level,” Lohrenz said.

She said the Navy trained — and tested — her and her fellow pilots to ensure they could make good decisions under high stress. Or, really, make any decisions at all under high stress.

“Not doing anything doesn’t allow your teammates to adjust. Take bold action even when you don’t know what success looks like,” Lohrenz said.

One of the tests devised by the Navy was strapping a parachute to the aviator who was attached by a line to a helicopter and then dragged along the ocean floor until they could untangle themselves and make it to a raft. She saw one pilot require a rescue when he couldn’t free himself. He was so disoriented when he was hauled into the helicopter that he tried to jump back into the sea, which could have been fatal.

“The reason that they put us in that scenario is that they wanted to put us in the place where we’re paralyzed by failure,” Lohrenz explained. The lesson is that the pilot never gives up. If the plane’s on fire, the pilot must land it or eject: Giving up means the loss of plane and pilot.

Lohrenz coaches executives overwhelmed by demands on their time and attention to write post-it notes each day with the three most important things for success. Using this practice, “you have more calmness and you’re more mindful about the stressors in your life,” Lohrenz said. Recalling the words they would use to focus themselves in the Navy, Lohrenz said, “If you lose sight, you lose the fight.”

Lohrenz entered aviation officer candidate school right out of college, and her basic training drill instructor prided himself that no woman had ever graduated from his course. She made it through anyway. In flight school, the commander tried to make her leave because it was, in the early 1990s, forbidden for women to fly planes for the Navy. She told him she wasn’t quitting. She had excellent grades and performance reviews, Lohrenz said, so the Navy backed down and allowed her to instruct other pilots. Soon, the rules changed and Lohrenz was allowed to move to the Miramar, California, Naval base where she trained as an F-14 pilot.

“Dig deep on the dark days – stay engaged,” Lohrenz said. “I showed up. It wasn’t fun; it wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do.”