Automated COMMUNICATOR recall system coming to base

  • Published
  • By Jake Shaw
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD ARB, Fla. --  The 482nd Communications Squadron is expected to implement a new, automated system this fall that will streamline the recall procedures at Homestead Air Reserve Base.

"Communicator" as the system is known, will eliminate the need for key staff to manually call personnel for accountability purposes, according to Senior Master Sgt. Wanda Symons, 482nd Fighter Wing Chief of Military Personnel Programs.

In the past, when a recall was initiated for training or real-world scenarios, all base units were required to pick up the phone and manually call everyone on their roster to get accountability for unit members.

Now the 482nd Fighter Wing will have the ability to contact all unit members quickly to achieve a high rate of accountability, said Sgt. Symons.

Communicator requires just one person to enter a recall message and within a few minutes the system starts calling everyone in its database to pass on the message, said Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Lopez, 482nd Fighter Wing Command Post Superintendent.

Communicator also delivers an accurate and consistent message to everyone who receives the call, according to Sgt. Lopez.

And it gives the wing commander the ability to measure the base's mission capability, said Sgt. Symons.

With the peak of hurricane season fast approaching, base officials are stressing the importance of the new system, which should make it easier and faster to learn the status of all base employees in the aftermath of a storm.

To do your part, all military and civilian employees at Homestead ARB must make sure their contact information is updated on the unit's recall roster.

(Editor's note: When you receive a call from the Communicator system you will hear the following message: "This is the 482 Fighter Wing Emergency Notification System. Please press a key at any time to retrieve an important message.")