Intermec Equipment Gets Rescue Team To Pentagon Disaster Site Fast

Chemical warfare. Biological weapons. Anthrax. Unfortunately, they’ve all become part of today’s global consciousness. But for the personnel of the Virginia Beach Urban Search and Rescue Team, Virginia Beach Task Force 2, guarding U.S. citizens against weapons of mass destruction can too quickly become part of a day’s work. The Virginia Beach team is one of six in the country designated by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) to respond to such threats.

When the Virginia Beach team gets a call to action, it must locate and deploy both equipment and personnel at a moment’s notice. Its logistics crew relies on Intermec® handheld computers and a logistics management software system developed by the team to keep it at the ready. The system was a key component in the team’s rescue efforts at the U.S. Pentagon on 11 September 2001 and continues to help ensure the team’s rapid disaster response capabilities.

“The capabilities demonstrated in the movement of our team and equipment in and out of the Pentagon area were phenomenal,” said Wayne Black, the team’s logistics specialist. “Intermec’s handheld computers, with our logistics management system, greatly expedited our efforts to load equipment and be fully operational at the disaster site.”