RECCWG Meeting in Casper Wyoming

 Region 8 RECCWG met this week in Casper Wyoming.

One of the more useful things the feds have done is fund travel for state and local government agencies to attend Regional Emergency Communications Coordinating Working Groups (RECCWG).  In order to achieve multi-state interoperability, the feds can either directly fund the technology, or get key people from local government together on a regular basis so they can work together on common goals.  The RECCWG concept supports the latter methodology. With communication professionals from multiple states meeting together, it is more likely that their interoperable communications solutions will be aligned -even shared.

I understand that funding for travel may not be available next year.  Instead, FEMA may simply allow local government agencies the option to use their interoperability grant money to fund travel to the RECCWG meetings.  That would be a shame.  One of the first things to be cut in any budget is travel. If a police chief has to choose between end-user radios or travel to a meeting, the radios will be bought. 

If FEMA wants common interoperability solutions, then specific funding for RECCWG travel needs to be maintained. Otherwise, the travel will be cut and local government agencies will define interoperability within their own borders.  This will increase the overall cost of interoperability at the federal level, wiping out any cost savings that cutting RECCWG travel budgets will supposedly save.

Learning from mistakes is useful.  Learning from our successes is better.  RECCWG participation has been a success (at least for region VIII).