AtHoc system ensures emergency readiness Published Feb. 24, 2012 By Airman 1st Class Laura L. Valentine 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- McConnell is now one of eight Air Mobility Command installations to implement the emergency mass notification system - AtHoc Installation Warning System Alerts. Headquarters AMC awarded the contract to Reliable Government Solutions to provide the system in September 2011. McConnell began installing software in December and personnel began registering information mid-February. According to an Air Mobility Command publication, this system procurement in part is in response to mitigating events such as the Fort Hood, Texas, incident, but will be key to notifying installation personnel during all types of emergencies. AtHoc IWSAlerts™ is a network-centric emergency mass notification system which also provides personnel accountability. The system tracks the alert messages produced, the people notified, and if and when they acknowledged. Types of notifications range from force protection condition changes, anti-terrorism warnings, and natural disaster alerts for approaching tornadoes, hurricanes or other emergency situations. Using the system, controllers can notify personnel within minutes of an emergency through a single, centralized, web-based report. Command posts at each base will be the lead in operating the system with emergency managers also being key players in the process. The AMC command center will also have the ability to make command-wide notifications. Once AtHoc is installed, a small purple globe will appear on the user's computer desktop indicating the computer is connected and can receive alert messages. When there is no communication or a connectivity issue occurs, a grey globe with a red "X" appears in the system tray. At this time, wing personnel are registering group by group so servers are not overloaded by responses. Each organization has a specific timeline, usually five days, to ensure everyone has properly registered their information, said Richard Williams, 22nd Civil Engineer Squadron readiness and emergency management program manager. Team McConnell responsibilities are simple: users must update their contact information and respond to alerts in a timely manner by following the provided instructions. Information can be updated by using the AtHoc IWSAlerts™ self service module. To access the module, right click on the purple globe and select "Access Self Service" and update accordingly. "To have a successful implementation we need a joint effort to ensure the folks at McConnell are aware of its use," said Tech. Sgt. Thomas Cyphers, Emergency Management NCO in charge. Editor's Note: Information for this article was used from a 12/29/11 Air Mobility Command Emergency Management article.