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Veteran's Affairs Plus discusses the issues that veterans in Las Vegas deal with on a daily basis. Your host, David L. Washington connects listeners with relevant community resources and information that they need to help veterans or themselves.
Announcer
0:00:00
This is a KUNV Studios original program.
Wesley Knight
0:00:04
You're listening to special programming sponsored by Making Moves Life Coaching Services. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz & More, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Frankie Beverly
0:00:19
Well, you are my sunshine, Brighten up my life, I know that I'm not right sometimes, Oh, I need you so, oh, oh, oh, Oh, I just wanna thank you, yeah Cause you made it this way
Frankie Beverly
0:00:56
You made it this way You sing for me Oh, you keep me smiling The things you do for me I know that you will be by me You're always around
Frankie Beverly
0:01:30
You make me happy The lovely things you do, you do I know you do, I owe it all to you You never let me down I just wanna thank you, yeah I just wanna thank you, yeah
Frankie Beverly
0:02:38
I just wanna thank you, yeah Cause you made it this way Good day, Las Vegas. This is Fetters Affairs plus on 91.5 jazz and more
Dave Washington
0:02:55
I'm Dave Washington your host and as you heard earlier with the song. Thank you by Frankie Beverly and maze, you know condolences to his family and all of his fans. We lost him last month, or earlier this month, I should say. But anyway, I have a lot of thank yous that I want to put out into the universe. You know, during my illness and the work that had to be done in terms of surgery down at MD Anderson, I had a lot of contact, a lot of love that was shown to me by a lot of folks. And I'm telling you, that's why I am
Dave Washington
0:03:40
thankful. And first of all, I want to thank God. In fact, when I went into the to prepare for the surgery, Tim, I was like, when I went for Fire Chief, I had never been in the zone before or since the Fire Chief interview. I was in the zone and I was like, and I know I would have Brother Muhammad and Brother Yusuf Muhammad and Rudolph Muhammad that will be on shortly. I'll have them to properly introduce themselves.
Dave Washington
0:04:06
But there was so much that was going on in my life and I had what was called Whipple Surgery and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy man. But when I was getting ready to go in I said, well, ain't no need me being anxious. Ain't no need me being nervous. Ain't no need me being afraid of dying because it's all in God's hand and God saw fit to allow me to get out of there in one piece.
Dave Washington
0:04:28
When I came out, the first thing my wife said is, I didn't see your mom and dad, and I didn't see my mom and dad. She said, why are you talking about dead people? I said, because they say when you go into surgery and you see dead people, they come in to get you. So anyway, I didn't see anyone, thank God.
Dave Washington
0:04:49
Thank God, but I can tell you it was one heck of an experience and I am so pleased that According to them it was in the head of my pancreas and they got it But I still must go back and have a couple other tests done just to ensure that everything was Moved out for sure and that is the tumor that was in the in the head of my pancreas But once again, I had one person who paid for six round trip tickets for my wife and my four children which, Tim, I didn't want them to come.
Dave Washington
0:05:20
They said, oh no, you've been a good father. We're coming. And I'm glad they did because I was worried the heck out of Marsha. But I just wanted to let the world know how grateful I am. And you know, you never know how you feel about things or even how people feel about you, to be honest.
Dave Washington
0:05:36
You may think certain things, but when these calls start coming in and these texts come in and people tell you how much you mean to the fire service and to those who are in the fire service, as well as those who are retired and your commitment, talking about me, my commitment to mankind was very heartwarming to me. So I just wanted, once again, to say thank you to all those folks, man. It really made me feel my worth as a fellow human being. So with that, you know with all that's been going on in our world and in our country even, and as today as I looked at my final call, they said Helene and Milton, they probably have $50 billion in damage.
Dave Washington
0:06:18
Wow! So as I was thinking about just in general, I said I got two gentlemen I've had on, you know, they're EMS, you know, public safety type officers. I've had them on the show before to talk about disaster management. And I said, I need to have them on again because we need to spread the word on how we need to take care of ourselves.
Dave Washington
0:06:38
And then I thought about the former PIO, public information officer for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, Tim Simansky. I said, God, Tim ran some stuff for us, the CERT program and other things. I think he'd be a great guest as well. So with that, I'm going to start with you, Tim. Just give the folks, our listening audience, a little bit about your background, if you
Tim
0:06:58
would. Yeah, I retired two years ago after 51 years in the fire service. I worked in three different parts of the country. I worked in Cleveland, Atlanta, and then 26 years here in Las Vegas. So I got to see a wide variety of different types of disasters, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, you name it, I was on it.
Tim
0:07:19
In my spare time, when I left the department, when I retired, I joined the Civil Air Patrol, which is the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. And actually, that's where I was, and the fire chief asked me if I wanted to be a firefighter, and I said, I want to go back to the Civil Air Patrol when I retire. And it was a joke, but I actually went on with the Nellis group, Nellis Air Force Base group.
Tim
0:07:48
And a lot of people don't know what we do, but what we do is we do respond to all the disasters. So we have the largest, we're all volunteers. There's 70,000 of us with 550 aircraft. And we do all the aerial photography. So the first pictures of the Giant Fire in Maui, the first pictures of 9-11, the collapse, all the damage
Tim
0:08:11
evaluations and assessments are being done by volunteers of the Civil Air Patrol right now. And they got sophisticated damage assessment equipment in the planes and they just keep flying back and forth and they're telling FEMA how much damage occurs. So I get to keep doing something every week. I'm with them doing something. We're practicing and that sort of a thing.
Tim
0:08:37
And then here in Nevada, we look at the avalanche possibilities over on the mountain and any storms that we have. So I'm staying in there, keeping up with disasters.
Dave Washington
0:08:49
Great. Well, we're going to get back to you on some of the things that possibly exist here in our valley and in the state of Nevada that a lot of people aren't aware of. And I think you brought this to our attention some years ago. Yusuf, give us a little background, sir, if you would, and then we'll have Brother Rudolph to come in.
Yusef
0:09:05
Thank you, Brother Chief. First of all, we want to thank your listening audience on Veterans Affairs for their consistency and constancy. All of us, of course, are praying for you, beloved, and your family. And you know, we just want to throw our good vibrations that you continue to heal well and feel well, sir.
Yusef
0:09:24
So thank you for your contribution. I've spent 30 years in the fire department in White Plains, New York, retired as a lieutenant. I also served as the president of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters from 2008 to 2012. I'm a proud graduate of the Dr. Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute in 2007 and I've been an instructor there at Dillard University in New Orleans since then and I'm currently a co-host of a
Yusef
0:09:52
podcast called Disaster Awareness for Community Preparedness with my dear brother, Brother Rudolph Muhammad. Thank you sir. Brother Rudolph. Yes, sir. First of all, let me do the same. And first of all, of course, thanking God for life, health, and strength, and the ability to conduct myself without the use of any mechanical instruments or without the aid of any assistive devices. And then of course, thanking God for bringing you through your tumultuous surgery, that
Yusef
0:10:30
Whipple, yeah, that's something else. We learned about that in school. And yeah, it's one of those real hellacious procedures. But good thing that you have a relationship with your Creator and He brought you through
Dave Washington
0:10:47
it.
Dave Washington
0:10:48
Yes, sir.
Yusef
0:10:49
You know, and I want to thank your station there for all that it does in the way of waking up people and keeping people informed. And your guest, Brother Tim, there, thanking him for his not just support, but his sacrifice in doing what he did as his job and career and employment. But even so, now that he's retired, he still has the desire to utilize what he's learned for the betterment of mankind. And so we want to thank him and his family for that. I'm an
Yusef
0:11:23
EMT instructor. I started in 1988 in New York City in the New York City EMS system and then merged into the FDNY. And I'm one of the co-founders of the Becker-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Service, which is the only Black volunteer ambulance services in the United States. And it's still up and running in Becker-Stuyvesant, New York. I'm currently now in Detroit, Michigan, where I'm a co-owner of another ambulance service here. And I got into disaster services in the United States Navy on board the ship that I was on.
Yusef
0:12:06
That's also where I got into the medical field. So I've been in the medical field since I was 18 years old and I'm currently 61 right now. So I, you know, I just, uh, and brother Yusuf and I, I'm not gonna say how long we've been I don't want to tell anybody he's not 19 yet, he's proclaimed. But yes, it's been a labor of love this whole time because I just love the work that I do. I love the ability to be able to help people at the worst time in their possible life.
Yusef
0:12:39
I think it's a blessing that we who are in this field, that you have to be chosen for this. This is not something you can choose.
Dave Washington
0:12:53
That's right.
Yusef
0:12:54
So, thank God for using us to do His work here on earth.
Rudolph
0:12:59
Thank you.
Dave Washington
0:13:00
Thank you, Brother Rudolph. And to your point, I recall many times when I'd be at the hospital visiting someone, I'd get on the elevator and I'd tell nurses, boy, I really love you guys. Someone would look at me like I'm some kind of pervert. I said, no, it's the heart that you have to do the work that you're doing, because not everybody is capable or willing to do that type of work, to include Dave Washington.
Dave Washington
0:13:22
When I came on the department in 1974, I got basic first aid training, you know, press, press, press, and wrap the bandage tight. And, you know, they start paying us, I think, 5% more if we become certified EMTs. And Marcia, my wife, said, you need to become an EMT. I said, why? Are you talking about money? She said, no, I'm not talking about the money.
Dave Washington
0:13:48
What about if your kids get injured or hurt or what have you? I said, I'm going to call 911. And she looked at me like she wanted to slap me. Because one thing, you know, in our business, you guys, we know that we see burned people. You know, we see dead bodies, we see it all. But one thing Dave Washington always knew, Brother Yusuf, if I saw somebody with a bone
Dave Washington
0:14:11
sticking through their skin, I would fall out right there on the spot. So I wasn't doing nothing medical under no shape, no form, keep your 5%. And I know people say this dude is really weak. But you know, the dead bodies, needles, all this, none of that bothers me, man. But I'm telling you, what bothers me is protruding bones. All right, now, I got a little bit off the sidetrack now.
Dave Washington
0:14:36
Look, what I want to do and have shared with our audience, give us some of the things, and again, we're going to have another 10 minutes if we don't get this all finished in this first show. We'll have you on the following Saturday as well. So we'll have about 10 minutes of that show that we can work with. So I'm going to start with you, Tim, because, and I'm starting with Tim, because Tim brought to our attention,
Dave Washington
0:14:59
Tim used to run a program called CERT. Explain to our listening audience what CERT's about, Tim, and how did you come about doing that particular program? And something I recall you saying to the press when you had one of your press conferences, you talked about there are many more, what do you call it for earthquakes? Yeah, what are those things called?
Tim
0:15:21
Faults.
Dave Washington
0:15:22
Faults. You said there's so many faults in Nevada that people don't even think about it.
Tim
0:15:28
Well, there's actually faults all over, and I don't know if you notice it on the news, but they've been having earthquakes in a lot of other places. They just had one up in New York, I think, at the beginning of the year and Nevada is the second or third, there's the debate, most seismic state in the United States. The program, the Community Emergency Response Team, was organized in Salt Lake City where they have significant earthquakes. And if you have a significant earthquake or any other disaster, hurricane, tornado, it's the local residents that are actually the
Tim
0:16:06
first responders, the one on the scene. And if you have hundreds or maybe thousands of calls coming in at one time, the fire department, the police department, they're not going to be able to respond to all the calls in the first 72 hours is the most critical. So CERC taught local residents what to do for those first 72 hours. They had a class about 40 hours, and it taught them first aid,
Tim
0:16:31
how to use two by fours for leverage for lifting heavy objects off of people that might have fallen and that. The program here in Las Vegas is taught by the city's Emergency Management Office. They've taken it up for about the last 10 years,
Tim
0:16:47
and they have instructors. And ironically, it's a lot of retired firefighters that they want to get involved so they become instructors for CERT for the city's emergency management agency. But it tells those people, it's very popular in a lot of states like California, Nevada and Utah where they have earthquakes.
Dave Washington
0:17:09
So that's good to know because when you left, I'm like whatever happened when I retired as well I was wondering whatever happened to sir, but you're telling me now because they did take emergency management from the fire department In fact, I told Betsy fretwell who was my boss at the time the deputy city manager I said Betsy I will go and talk to my staff about you know, your idea of moving the emergency city chief There's nothing to talk about Till all I could do is just start laughing. Sometimes you get those calls by the boss and say this is what's going to happen.
Dave Washington
0:17:40
Brother Rudolph and Brother Yusuf, talk about some of the things that you guys have done because I haven't listened to your show in a while, but I know you guys really lay out things kind of along the lines of what Tim was doing with CERT on things that they should do and have around the house, etc., etc. So if you guys can give us some detail from your perspective on that, that would be great.
Yusef
0:18:01
Either one. Well, Chief Washington, we always say just try to prepare. Take one step toward preparation and you'll be surprised of how many people will take steps toward you to help you with whatever it is you're concerned about relative to disaster preparedness. We say disaster preparedness is about community investment, community involvement, community
Yusef
0:18:23
partnership for community risk reduction. But first, as an individual, you must take the first step. And we encourage our listening audience to, one, get informed, to, two, develop a plan, to, three, periodically adjust or reassess your plan and your kit. Of course, there's a term called the go bag,
Yusef
0:18:44
which you really need to be concerned about putting your supplies in a go bag that you could use if you have to evacuate or if you have to shelter in place. Think in mind of preparation, take one step and try to prepare for at least 72 hours. You know, and there's a scripture that talks about study the ant and become wise. Well, the ant prepares for the winter in the summer and the ant prepares in the summer for the winter.
Yusef
0:19:08
Don't be like the grasshopper, he just lives for the moment. And then, you know, the rest is history, you know, so I'll just leave it there as a baseline assessment and let brother Rudolph pick up where I left off. Well, you know, stay right there and just say that disaster preparedness is about strengthening the weakest link because no matter how well prepared you are, if that which you're connected to is weak, then it will drain you. So it's about each one doing their due diligence to make sure that they are individually as
Yusef
0:19:49
prepared as they can be, and then helping those that are around them to strengthen their own and fortify the things that they need to do for themselves. It's really, you know, you keep hearing it, you keep hearing it. We try to break it down for people to make it as simple as possible so that it's not as terrifying as it sounds. It's really a basic principle of just having what you need when you need it so that you
Yusef
0:20:19
don't have to go find what you need when you need it. And it's just, it's basic things. You know, our grandparents, Big Mama used to tell us about that, you know, not putting all your eggs in one basket, save some for a rainy day. You know, those cliches, it's a poor rat that only has one hole, you know. And we never understood what those symbolic sayings meant.
Yusef
0:20:44
We thought that that was just the way old people talk. But now since we're the old people, and we're saying what they used to say, you know, it's a different connotation now. But, you know, it's just a basic, like, with our thing that we do, how every few years the terms have changed, but the actuality of it, it stays the same because it's just the same soup reheated from the duck and cover days of the Civil Air Patrol to where we are now. The only thing that has really changed is
Yusef
0:21:22
technology has helped us to do things faster and to be able to predict more
Tim
0:21:32
but the basic sentiments are still the same. You're going to be on your own for a while so you need to have the things that you need for you and your family until help arrives. Absolutely, well said. Once again, this is Veterans Affairs Plus
Tim
0:21:38
The guest today we have is Tim Szymanski, retired PIO for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. In fact, about midway of my tenure as fire chief, me and Tim put together a PIO conference. It lasted, I think we did it two times. And I just believe in my heart of hearts that we had continued. Cause I tell the world all the time, I had the best PIO in the world. Cause Tim handled it all.
Tim
0:22:03
In fact, he would tell me, tell you what, chief, if you don't address the press, they're going to make up whatever they want to make up. So whatever to do, I'm sorry. You need to talk on this one. Not one of your deputies, because I didn't always go before the press, you know, let them other guys talk. I don't have to talk all the time, but I really appreciate him. Look, once again, this is Veterans Affairs plus on ninety one point five jazz and more. I have also on the line is Yusuf Mohammed and Rudolph Mohammed. They have their own radio program that really talks a lot about disaster preparedness,
Tim
0:22:35
and their show is greatly appreciated and have a wide listening audience. So, Tim, talk a little bit more about the Civil Air Patrol. I didn't know. I wasn't aware you had got involved in that. I should have known because – It's a volunteer group that was formed right just before World War II started.
Tim
0:22:53
It was made up of volunteers, pilots used their own private planes, and they had 232 locations along the coast, east, west coast, and the Gulf Coast. They just flew back and forth looking for sneak invasion or submarines. cadet program that's kids 13 and above that if they successfully complete a program they can join the Air Force and they get an automatic first stripe. They're usually picked or they can get into the academies. But we do also
Tim
0:23:29
volunteer programs. I know they're working over there in a hurricane areas passing out food and water using again with a damage assessment and stuff like that. We meet once a week. We've got like five squadrons in the Las Vegas area. And we teach everything. They have one of the most sophisticated educational programs,
Tim
0:23:54
online educational programs. And it's a great place if a person wants to give back to their community and really get involved and say, I want to be in disaster preparedness. And you want to learn. They would love to have you.
Tim
0:24:09
And it's also for the kids. The kids learn a lot. They do the search and rescue on the ground. They have very sophisticated communications equipment. And it's a good way to give back to your community. All you have to do is look up, their website is
Tim
0:24:23
gocivilairpatrol.com. See what you'll find out and you'll find out It's just a bunch of people from your community that want to give back and once they get there
Dave Washington
0:24:35
They find out that they have a lot of fun. Okay. All right, brother. You said the Rudolph you guys got any kind of collaborations? Going on outside of what you're doing with your radio show is there means of making contact with others to again spread this word about how we and why we
Yusef
0:24:53
need to prepare ourselves. Well Chief, that's what really it's all about. Partnershipping and networking one with another. No one can do it by themselves. We are members of the Ministry of Health and Human Services of the Nation of Islam that encompasses all kinds of subject matter experts from doctors to EMTs to paramedics to nurses to firefighters and the like. I too have been a co-chair of the Black Family Summit as the co-chair of the emergency management task force, where back in 2012, we signed a memorandum of
Yusef
0:25:30
agreement with FEMA, who at that time was Chief Craig Fugate, was the director or superintendent of FEMA at that time. The Black Family Summit consists of approximately 25 to 30 national organizations, albeit the National Association of Black Social
Yusef
0:26:02
Workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, a various network of people who we found out that when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, there were some in the city to get to our people. So we made an effort to try to eliminate that challenge in forthcoming emergencies.
Yusef
0:26:14
And so we were able to do that. The All Healers Mental Health Alliance and what's called the Black Resiliency Network, these are just other people that we've worked with in order to get to our people, you know, expeditiously as best we can.
Dave Washington
0:26:29
Okay. Brother Rudolph, you got anything to add to that? And we will wrap it up. And I'm asking that you guys will come back for the start of the second show, which will be the second week in November. Go ahead, Brother Rudolph.
Yusef
0:26:42
Yes, sir. No, all I'll add to that is that this is an area where everyone can play a part in it. You don't have to have any special credentials, any special training. All you have to do is be one that wants to survive when disaster strikes. And you can learn what you need to learn. And everybody already has a skill, you just don't realize it until you're put in the
Tim
0:27:08
area where you need to use it. And then you perfect it. So, you know, you just have to have the heart or the desire to do it and everything else will come to
Dave Washington
0:27:18
you. All right. Well, as we run out of time here, I've got a couple of other things I want to add to the show. And also, again, I want you guys back on the other side where we will have our next show and I'll give you guys an opportunity to say some additional words about, again, disaster
Dave Washington
0:27:35
management in particular. So I want to acknowledge Coach Tate. He has a golf tournament and he had a pretty successful program. Next year we'll try to get him a little bit more play on the show. And we're going to ask for God's speed and travel for those of us who are members of the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute who will be going down for a retreat this weekend down in Oklahoma City.
Dave Washington
0:27:58
And also condolences to the to the family. We had a family of six and I think four of them perished in a fire just I think last week or the week before. What a tragedy. And I'm glad that the school is doing something about what would you call it? You mentioned some of this, Brother Yusuf, where they're bringing in, I don't know if it's psychologists or psychiatrists, whatever it is, to assist these young people because they are hurting with the loss of two of their close friends in class. So those kinds of things are important.
Dave Washington
0:28:30
And then I want to say happy Veterans Day, because it's coming up for our veterans out there. And then to the family of Melvin Givens. He recently passed away, a long time member of our community. And then a final congratulations to Kimberly and Charles Tureau. They do the, at the end of the month each year,
Dave Washington
0:28:50
I think for eight years now, they've done a, what is it, breast cancer parade or caravan right down the heart of the strip. So I want to thank those guys. Once again, this is Dave Washington with Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 Jazz and More.
Dave Washington
0:29:04
I certainly thank the producer engineer, Wes, and also Gene for covering for me the last two shows. and also Gene for covering for me the last two shows. So we'll talk to you again soon on 91.5 Jazz and More.
Transcribed with Cockatoo