The Kids Are All Right
Oct. 12th, 2004 01:05 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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x_staffThis weekend makes the, what, third time we've had Evil Creatures From Dimension X attack in the past year? We've had commando raids, mob ambushes, a bunch of folks getting whisked off to Fantasyland, and a handful of kids have blown up.
Did I miss anything?*
Point being, this last weekend was the first time I saw these kids handle things RIGHT. At least the group I had out back, none of 'em tried to be a hero, no one tried anything stupid when they recognized shit was going to get out of hand. They heard the call to fall back, and not a one of them gave any lip.
So I've been looking at the new school layout, and evacuation plans are still being based off the old blueprints. At least one of those shafts that leads into the tunnels can't be used since last year's commando raid, and two others I'd seal off due to exhaust venting from the jet hangar. But there's still a lot of good safe havens should something like this happen again, from whatever nifty surprise we've got coming. There's a few storage rooms on the same level as the medlab that we aren't using, those can be converted into shelters if need be. The old fruit shed, if it's not in need of being demolished, could be shored up and the cellar there could be set up the same way. Hell, even the boathouse has a small basement room that could do, should folks be out that way when trouble hits. I suggest land-line phones on a closed system between all the locations, something that's going to allow communication without anyone worrying about what's going on outside.
Point I'm trying to make - this wasn't as bad as it could have been, because no one got hurt. Except for Rasputina, who from all records these guys were going after. Kids got out of it unscathed because they high-tailed it to safe ground. I ain't one for bringing back the old air raid drills (if anyone but me and Chuck is old enough to remember those), but given the state of the school - a safety drill in case of crisis is as necessary as those fire drills we run every three months. The old drills, so far as what I can tell from the files on the Stryker attack, didn't work because too many kids weren't familiar with them, and they got nabbed. Get it down to a regular drill, and they'll know what to do without having to feel like they're living in a war zone.
I ain't going to name names**, but some of these kids did DAMN good. Cooler heads than I saw on some guys I served with under fire. Not sure what that says about them that they're this jaded before they even hit 18 - but they held their shit together. Figure it's a good habit to get everyone into, keeping cool heads.
*That was rhetorical.
**Except for Miss Colbert, who's got one hell of a knack for applied architecture in a crisis.
Did I miss anything?*
Point being, this last weekend was the first time I saw these kids handle things RIGHT. At least the group I had out back, none of 'em tried to be a hero, no one tried anything stupid when they recognized shit was going to get out of hand. They heard the call to fall back, and not a one of them gave any lip.
So I've been looking at the new school layout, and evacuation plans are still being based off the old blueprints. At least one of those shafts that leads into the tunnels can't be used since last year's commando raid, and two others I'd seal off due to exhaust venting from the jet hangar. But there's still a lot of good safe havens should something like this happen again, from whatever nifty surprise we've got coming. There's a few storage rooms on the same level as the medlab that we aren't using, those can be converted into shelters if need be. The old fruit shed, if it's not in need of being demolished, could be shored up and the cellar there could be set up the same way. Hell, even the boathouse has a small basement room that could do, should folks be out that way when trouble hits. I suggest land-line phones on a closed system between all the locations, something that's going to allow communication without anyone worrying about what's going on outside.
Point I'm trying to make - this wasn't as bad as it could have been, because no one got hurt. Except for Rasputina, who from all records these guys were going after. Kids got out of it unscathed because they high-tailed it to safe ground. I ain't one for bringing back the old air raid drills (if anyone but me and Chuck is old enough to remember those), but given the state of the school - a safety drill in case of crisis is as necessary as those fire drills we run every three months. The old drills, so far as what I can tell from the files on the Stryker attack, didn't work because too many kids weren't familiar with them, and they got nabbed. Get it down to a regular drill, and they'll know what to do without having to feel like they're living in a war zone.
I ain't going to name names**, but some of these kids did DAMN good. Cooler heads than I saw on some guys I served with under fire. Not sure what that says about them that they're this jaded before they even hit 18 - but they held their shit together. Figure it's a good habit to get everyone into, keeping cool heads.
*That was rhetorical.
**Except for Miss Colbert, who's got one hell of a knack for applied architecture in a crisis.
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no subject
Date: 2004-10-12 05:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-12 07:54 am (UTC)We had regular avalanche drills at the monastery for exactly the reasons you outline: what is drilled often enough to become reflex will not be forgotten under stress. I'm afraid I know very little about the specific measures you proposed, but when you have an approved plan, if you would like any help with the physical side of the renovations, please let me know.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-12 03:07 pm (UTC)Just kidding, really. *backs away from the large scary man*
Seriously... Drills are an excellent idea. Ordinary schools have fire drills, and schools in the appropriate areas have tornado and earthquake drills. I think we're just going to have to accept that the school, for whatever reason/s, is not as safe for the kids as we would like. This doesn't mean we give up on making it so, but we shouldn't be leaving the kids with their asses hanging out in the breeze just because we can't accept that we can't be there all the time and prevent every catastrophe.
As for the kids themselves and their ability to adapt... they never cease to amaze me. Even Clarice, who comes across as a typical air-headed teen, kept her head in this crisis and listened when we gave her instructions from a medical point of view. All the kids who help in the medlab have been doing amazing work, especially now we've got the mentoring system in hand.
Cain, I'm assuming you've got this covered, but something covering evac from the medlabs (patients included) would be very helpful. From the stories I've been told about the Stryker attack, if anyone had been in medlab back then, they would have been a prime target.