 |
||||||
             |
 |
 |
 These are the remarks made during the Opening Ceremonies of NASSLEO's 2010 Los Angeles Conference by Executive Director Peter Pochowski. The story of the year thus far, that doesn't include LaBron James or Brett Favre is the oil disaster in the Gulf. To call this simply an oil spill fails to consider that eleven men lost their lives. It is a disaster, pure and simple, and what has happened and what has been said since the earliest days of the incident is also a disaster. Let me explain. BP was not prepared for a tragedy of this magnitude. They knew it could happen here, but why spend millions and waste so much time preparing for a disaster that simply could occur, but is highly unlikely to. The odds are too great. High risk, to be sure, but very low probability. And they had other more important things to do like find more oil, drill for more oil, and sell more oil. On June 16th, 2010, five presidents of the leading oil companies testified in front of a Congressional hearing. They had been summoned to answer questions from our elected officials who were angry that their respective companies had the audacity to be so negligent and unprepared for a tragedy of this proportion. The congressional investigators had discovered that to their credit, all five companies had crisis plans. The problem was that their plans were almost exactly the same! All five had copied the same basic plan used in the State of Alaska, including sections of the plan to deal with saving seals and walruses, neither of which had lived in the Gulf in two million years. All five companies also had a section for a media plan (40 pages) and a section for spills (5 pages). BP went so far to list the name of a specialist to be called in the event of a crisis, Dr. Peter Lutz, a well respected wild life expert. Unfortunately, Dr. Lutz had died five years earlier! But he was still in BP's 2010 plan! More charges of incompetence of gross neglect from the Congress. We, the American people also jumped on the bandwagon with our own charges, threats, and abuse of PB's leadership for allowing this to happen. Here is an interesting twist on this, the story of the year. I ask: Why? Why are we bashing these people for not being prepared for a disaster like this, of the magnitude we have never seen before? Certainly we can find some compassion, can't we? Haven't we all been caught by surprise in our lives? NO? Well I think otherwise. America itself was not prepared for Pearl Harbor, the Space Shuttle explosion, Katrina, 9/11, Freddie and Fanny, and I could go on and on. In each of this these tragedies people in positions of authority were well aware that something could happen, but it was highly unlikely. The odds are too great. High risk, to be sure, but very low probability. Besides, they had other more important things to do. Isn't that what the oil executives were saying? I am not here to defend BP. God knows I am as angry about the gross neglect as anyone. But there are clear parallels between the leaders of BP and the leaders of far too many schools and the parents of the children that attend them. Initially I understood BP's confusion. It had no previous experience with disasters of this size at the depth of 5,000 feet as a reference, where lessons could have been learned, and crisis plans could have been adjusted. I can also accept the state of confusion that existed in the early moments after the explosion. As a former police commander I have been in the middle of many emergencies and experienced the same temporary shock and confusion as did BP. BUT what I CANNOT understand is why school leaders, with dozens of school shootings in our history, with 20 or more students dying in our schools each year, are guilty of the same flawed decision making as the oil company executives thinking it 'could happen here, but it is highly unlikely. The odds are too great. High risk, to be sure, but very low probability. Besides, I have other more important things to do.' I have seen outdated crisis plans like BP's with names of people who had died, retired years or had left years earlier. I have seen plans with elaborate sections for dealing with the media but little or nothing to deal with prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response or recovery. I have seen schools with a plan that was copied from another school, and yes, I have seen schools with absolutely no plan at all. So before we join the move to crucify BP's executives, let's take a good look in the mirror and see if we are not as guilty of gross neglect as are the oil executives. There is no excuse for this none at all! I ask my colleagues who are school leaders these simple questions: If not you, who? And if not now, when? Are kids not as important as oil? I think the comment of cartoon character Pogo is appropriate here: 'We have seen the enemy- and they is us!' Your presence here today indicates to me that you understand the challenges of school security, that yes, despite low probability it can happen here, and we MUST be prepared. As we begin our two and a half days of the Conference I leave you with this thought: we can replace our oil, but we cannot replace our kids. We have 56 millions students in America but not a single one to spare! Have a great conference." Peter Pochowski Executive Director |
|||
 |
|
|
|
|||
 |
||||
 |
|
Conference Milwaukee, WI July, 2011 Dates to be announced |
|
 |
 |
||||
