Dayton Area DMAT News

Cache Consolidation

   The team cache has been absorbed into a central cache in Michigan. The only equipment the team will keep local are, uniforms and a small number of radios used to assist teams in team movement.
   By centralizing the caches, NDMS feels it can better keep up with cache updates and save money overall. Also in recent years, deployed teams often did not take their own caches but were sent caches from teams and supply centers that were closest to the event.
   Historically a team cache has been supplied to teams that had met certain criteria to become a "level 1" team. For those teams it was a badge of honor showing that they had achieved recognition. The caches were also a focal point of team activity and pride as much work went into its upkeep. Local caches also meant teams could easily train locally. In the future teams will be given training regionally but perhaps not as often as the expenses of moving people around the country is understandably considerable. Warehouse locations also have served as member staging points, uniform strorage and team offices which will now have to be located elsewhere.
   Time will tell what kind of impact this logistics change will have on NDMS. There are positives and negatives to this consolidation, but it is hoped that the overall change will be a good one for NDMS.