EOC executive officer keeps information flowing

  • Published
  • By Airman Samantha S. DeVries
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  During the Phase II portion of Exercise Sharpshooter 08-01, the emergency operation center was a hectic place.

Phones ringing, people yelling, land mobile radios crackling. Information was coming in at a rate of a thousand miles a minute.

To the untrained eye, it may look like utter chaos, but to 1st Lt. Trent Fritz, it was just another day of the exercise.

As the EOC executive officer, Lieutenant Fritz provided the EOC director with information to be passed up the chain to the commander during the Phase II exercise, which took place Oct. 24 through 25.

"We're another means to ensure the commander is getting all the information he needs," he said.

Lieutenant Fritz received information from emergency service function officers who represented the different groups from the wing. He then passed the information to the EOC director who relayed it to the installation control center director. The information was then provided to the ICC commander.

Lieutenant Fritz would also act as the EOC director if the director could no longer perform their duties, but his job this day was to make sure all the information coming into the EOC made its way to the commander so it could then be sent to the troops.

"It's like a body," the lieutenant said, "with the troops as the furthest extremities, and we want to get the information out to them."

Overall, Lieutenant Fritz is a very crucial piece of the puzzle.

"I am a resource for the commander to ensure he has all the information needed to make a decision based on facts and not assumptions," he said. "This allows the war-fighters to be more efficient."