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Office of Force Readiness and Deployment |
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Hurricane Relief Continues |
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Officers in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) continue to care for the
victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. The Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD) is
still deploying officers to the Secretary’s Emergency Response Team (SERT) in Baton Rouge; the Area Field
Office in New Orleans; to four medical venues: Clinics in St Bernard’s, Plaquemine, and Cameron Parishes;
and to a clinic on a cruise ship in Mississippi. |
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The current total number of officers deployed in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma is 2,656.
Most of these officers deployed through OFRD while others deployed through their Operating Divisions, Staff
Divisions, or non-Department of Health and Human Services organizations to which Corps officers are
assigned. Of these 2,656 officers, approximately 300 deployed more than once. In addition, many deployed
for much longer that the typical 14-day deployment. |
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Note: If you are able to deploy and have supervisory approval, please enter your availability date(s) at
http://ccrf.hhs.gov/ccrf/Missions/Wilma.htm.
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State of the Union Address, 2006 |
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Once again, Corps officers supported the President’s State of the Union address. Twenty-one officers
were on-call and 26 officers were staged at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Hubert H.
Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC. Officers positioned at HHS were available
to provide medical support if called upon. |
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Training |
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In February, the OFRD training team provided training to new call to active duty (CAD) officers as part
of a combined 2-week course that included Readiness and Response Training and Basic Officer Training.
New CAD officers completed all the training to meet the requirements of the Basic Level of Force Readiness
(BLS and online courses) as well as all, or minimally beginning, all multi-dose immunization series, and
completing the annual fitness requirements. |
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OFRD has collaborated with the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness to enroll Corps officers
in the first online SERT training. The online courses will be given each month through May for those
officers in the liaison role who will deploy as part of a SERT. |
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OFRD has received more applications than slots for both the Medical Management of Chemical Biological
Casualties Course and the Joint Operations Medical Managers Course. Successful applicants have been
notified of their reserved seats in the class. |
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