When Cisco learned that Highlands, NJ Police and Boro Administration offices were destroyed and that communications were limited for the Police Department and non-existent for the Boro, they stepped up in a big way.

The team had a lot of equipment at their immediate disposal and the ability to reach back into “Big Cisco” to get whatever else was needed.  They have support at the highest levels within Cisco for their mission.

When we reached out to them, they already had a disaster response team deployed to Rockaway NY assisting a local area public safety organization with their communications needs and offered to be in Highlands later the same day if we needed their assistance.

Given there was an impending Nor’ Easter, the local Highlands emergency response team worked with the local officials to define the Highlands communication needs to be prepared for the arrival of the Cisco team.

Cisco Tactical Operations (TacOps) is a highly skilled and dedicated team that can mobilize and respond to natural disasters and other catastrophes when normal communications infrastructure have been degraded or destroyed. Trained to work in challenging environments, the team responds with satellite-based communications and networking equipment during the acute phase of an emergency.  Priority for TacOps support is given to mission-critical public safety, government, and critical infrastructure customers.

The team worked closely with Charlie Wells and David Parker in the Office of Emergency Management to quickly set up reliable communications out of the Firehouse for both the Police and the Boro Administrators.

After Highlands communications were stabilized, the team moved on to Seabright to lend a hand.  

Cisco does this strictly from a corporate social responsibility perspective.