Civil Air Patrol uses instant messaging from IMLogic
Instant Messaging is not for teenagers only anymore. The Civil Air Patrol and other emergency services are beginning to use it to good effect
We associate instant messaging with teenagers, but this communication method is used for more serious purposes as well. The Civil Air Patrol (CAP), for example, uses Waltham, Massachusetts-based IMlogic’s IM Manager to secure emergency real-time communications with volunteers across the country for search and rescue flights, DHS missions, and disaster response. CAP coordinated its missions in the South following hurricanes Katrina and Rita using instant messaging to plan hundreds of missions to find survivors, take aerial photographs, and help bring aid to those in need.
CAP operations center headquarters is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. From there, operations managers coordinate all CAP flight missions directed from the U.S. Air Force, FEMA, and DHS. As a decentralized, nonprofit auxiliary to the Air Force, CAP is the largest single owner of a general aviation fleet in the world. IM plays a significant role in connecting key volunteers around the country who direct functions such as training, budgeting, staffing and operations. CAP uses IM Manager to prevent viruses and worms from attacking the network and to ensure users comply with internal IM use policies. “CAP is the latest in a list of customers that have used IMlogic IM Manager to reduce the risk of cyber threats, while leveraging the significant value of real-time communications,” said IMlogic CTO, Jon Sakoda. “With the scale of disasters of recent months, instant communication and collaboration to help coordinate search and delivery of supplies is even more critical.”
-read more in this news release; about the Civil Air Patrol at organization Web site
