COMMENTARY>>Updating the 987-HERK line information

Question: I was writing in regard to the 987-HERK line information. During the snow days, I noticed there seemed to be a lack of up-to-date information placed on the HERK line. I live on the back side of Cabot and at 5:30 a.m. Monday the schools had cancelled. I called the HERK line where it listed the base in delayed reporting and to check back after 6:30 a.m. for updates. At 8 and 9 a.m. I called back and had not been updated with any new status.

Monday evening my school district cancelled school for Tuesday. I called the HERK line at 8 p.m. to see what Tuesday’s reporting status would be. The HERK line still was stating that Monday was mission-essential personnel only and update would be at 6 p.m. Around 10 p.m., I received a call instructing delayed reporting for 10 a.m., and based upon that information I did not call the HERK line the next morning before I left. I arrived at work to find out the base was now delayed reporting of noon.

At 10 a.m., most of my unit was showing up and we were notified by our supervision that the base is now mission-essential only.

I feel we need to do a better job of ensuring the HERK line is up to date and accurate. In addition, if we state that an update will be made after a certain time, then we need to follow through and change the information. Thank you for your time on this issue.

Answer: Thank you for addressing this concern. It’s a frustration I believe was shared by many during the three days of inclement weather. First, the good news up front - the issue with the HERK line has been resolved.

The HERK line was only set up with one active recording. It could be initially updated with instructions for delayed reporting because this occurred very early in the morning, before base personnel started calling in. However, as base personnel began to call the HERK line for updated information, a mechanical issue caused the voicemail box to constantly be in use; therefore, it couldn’t be updated, despite the efforts made by the command post.

Upon returning to regular operating hours on Feb. 10, our 19th Communications Squadron technicians shop began to troubleshoot the HERK line voicemail setup in coordination with technical support from the vendor. They engineered a work-around to provide four additional greeting slots that could be prerecorded with new information and activated as the primary greeting when new information or decisions became available. This should permanently resolve difficulty with updating HERK line weather information.

Again, thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. Combat Airlift!