ships   that   sortied   and   often   by   having   an understanding  person  available  to  talk  to. .  The  center  was  established  with  watch standers from the submarine, surface and shore communities, who had direct access to the Naval Base Operations Center and to submarine group and destroyer  squadron  operations  centers.  The  center was particularly important in relaying return data for  ships  that  sortied,  since  some  ombudsmen  had to  evacuate  and  others  had  their  homes  badly damaged, telephone lines knocked out, and so forth. In this regard the briefing of ombudsmen at training   academy   sessions,   predeployment briefings and other forums on leaving backup names and  telephone  numbers  with  the  family  service center  or  squadron  is  highly  recommended.  Public affairs  offices  and  other  organizations  can  then obtain an updated list just before the storm so that such  information  could  be  made  readily  available for information center use. .   The   Military   Affiliated   Radio   System (MARS)—In talking to ship COs who sortied to avoid  the  storm,  several  praised  the  usefulness  of MARS  in  making  telephone  patches  ashore  to ombudsmen, CO and XO spouses to determine the status  of  crew  members’  families.  Many  said  they knew the status of most families within 24 to 48 hours after the storm hit. This was particularly significant because when ships  were  diverted  to  alternate  ports  (such  as Mayport) pending inspection and opening of the channel, COs immediately dispatched the crewmen home who had their homes destroyed. The ships that fared the best had worked out many details before departure; many had not. The role that MARS played in the information flow was significant and indirectly impacted the Hot Line call load. MARS and its role in such situations should be highlighted to sortied ships and their direct  support  network  and  be  considered  a  definite factor in the information flow by local public affairs personnel. MARS was also used in a similar fashion for  providing  information  to  Charleston-based  ships overseas that heard the reports of  “total devastation, death  and  destruction.”  Later  reports  from  overseas units indicated MARS connections were greatly appreciated   and   eased   the   minds   of   worried crewmen. l Loss of local television and radio stations– As a result of the storm, all local media outlets eventually  went  off  the  air.  Restoring  com- munications  with  local  media  under  these circumstances was a major task since telephone lines were lost and some stations moved to remote transmitter  lines. It is recommended that stations be contacted beforehand, perhaps during the same 72-hour time frame that ship sortie is normally addressed, and ask for  transmitter  site  telephone  numbers  and secondary  numbers.  After  the  storm,  several  radio stations in less severely damaged areas in South Carolina,   such   as   Port   Royal,   as   well   as   in neighboring states (Jacksonville, Fla. and Raleigh, N.C.), voluntarily picked up the information load and   relayed   a   great   deal   of   South   Carolina information. Monitoring those stations and using them to provide emergency service information definitely helped in getting the word out. As a result, stations that participated were placed on local media lists or in contingency folders for easy reference if the need arose  again.  Also  a  battery-powered,  black  and white,  dual-purpose  television/radio  maintained  in the PAO emergency “fly-away” box provided the primary means of monitoring various broadcasts and  is  considered  to  be  an  essential  piece  of equipment  in  such  situations. These items represent only a sketch of what was gained in this most extraordinary circumstance. Other  lessons  learned  will  certainly  be  forthcoming as  other  ramifications  of  Hurricane  Hugo  are discovered. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS Learning    Objective: Outline   the   planning   and administrative  procedures  to  follow  to  ensure  naval disaster  preparedness. When faced with an adverse news situation, the first questions  you  must  ask  yourself  are,  What  is  my mission? and What am I trying to accomplish? What is really going on? Generally, the first word passed is usually wrong. A good relationship among the public affairs,  intelligence  and  operations  staffs  should  be  in place before any disaster occurs, or the PAO folks will be uninformed of crucial information. One of the first steps you should take to help answer these questions is to establish objectives. As elementary 2-8