Independence Hall Week 8

  Sunday July 14, 2013 I started my shift a lot earlier than normally because I switched to day shift in order to keep the same scheduled hours as my supervisor. I was told that the days at INDE are very different from the nights and working day shift would give me a different perspective on the park. I arrived to INDE and changed into park service uniform then reported to my Supervisor. Supervisor Snow informed me about the opportunity to work with cultural resources the coming Wednesday and I am excited about that. I have not worked in another division other than LE since last summer. About an hour into our shift all LE Rangers met for a briefing in the east wing of INDE HALL.

  Once all Rangers were present Supervisor began talking about the transition of both him and I working day shifts. He told all rangers what he expected from them and what he is expected to do as a supervisor. I think that Supervisor Snow is a great supervisor and leader for the Park Service. He carries himself very well and professional, I believe the Days shift Rangers and especially I can learn a lot from Ranger Snow. The briefing last about 45 minutes and then we all dismissed ourselves and headed out of the east wing back into the field.  Ranger Snow and I head to the ranger station.

  At the Ranger station I logged onto the computer to check and address some emails that were sent to me. I emailed my supervisor an electronic copy of the property assignment I had been working on.  He looked over it and asked me to make some changes adding more information and description to the document about the property. I completed the task ASAP and sent the finished product back over to him. Most of my day was spent typing up reports and getting information from online. I got to explore the park briefly as I cleared the M.E.B and shadowed the Staff in Dispatch. In dispatch I watched the park visitors enjoy themselves from the surveillance cameras. I observed dispatchers multitask by taking calls, looking up visitor’s information and entering data into the computer for future reference.  To me dispatch has both an interesting and difficult job. They definitely help the operation at INDE run smoother. I took a few notes while I sat in dispatch but not too long after that I was back in 339.

  At 339 I took a lunch then back to researching MSDS Material safety Data sheets for hazardous or chemical products list I made. Attaching the MSDS to the list is very important to determine what’s in each product and how to treat a spill. I was given the task to put together a uniform for an incoming permanent LE Ranger. I will complete that tomorrow because I will need the Help of an LE Ranger for access to the uniform cache and supervision. My first day working with the day shift was very good. There are a lot more going on and a lot more visitors. I left INDE after my shift ended.

   On Monday I arrived on Park Property and jumped into uniform. I log onto the computer and checked my emails first.  After checking emails and responding to them I logged off the computer and checked with my supervisor to get my task. Ranger Snow assigned me to go into the uniform cache and put together a uniform for an incoming permanent law enforcement Ranger.  One of the LE Rangers Sinclair helped me find and unlock the uniform cache in Franklin court. When searching for the items to complete the uniform I was able to locate class A pants, long and short sleeve shirts, and an acorn belt. I was unable to find cargo pants, a tie or tie tack. Before leaving Franklin court I stopped and spot with 2 Interp Rangers working in the printing press side of Franklin court.

 Interp Rangers working on printing press

  The Interpretation Rangers were putting on a demon station in which they used ink and a printing press to recreate important documents like the declaration. I watched them demonstrate step by step and so did a few visitors. The printing that they have in Franklin Court are sold to visitors who want to take souvenirs home. Right before I left Franklin court the rangers invited me to check out The Edgar Alan Poe house that INDE covers. At the ranger station I dropped off the uniform and left the park to pick up Ranger Nicole who had been working in the Poe House.  Visitors are currently not allowed inside the Poe House due to construction, but it will reopen sometime in the late summer/early fall and I cannot wait to check it out.

When I got back to the ranger station I continued to work on my inventory reports. I am complete with researching and gathering information now I’m putting everything together so that I can turn it in.

The next day I arrived at INDE at my new scheduled time. Working mornings is something new I have to get used to. I geared up and was informed by my supervisor that I would be shadowing dispatch for half of my shift today. I am familiar with the staff in dispatch so this was something else I looked forward too. At dispatch I met Marc who has a lot of knowledge of the Park Service and INDE. He used to be a Law Enforcement Ranger and Interp Ranger so that means he knows a lot about the different sides of the operation.

   Mark informed me about the communication at INDE. He told me the different tools they use to communicate with other staff members and contacts outside the park service. I learned that each division has different communication devices. Maintenance has push to talk radios and interpretation uses the radios like R&VP does.  One of the most important things that I noted was that the alarms in the park don’t just alarm when there has been some type of threat but also they will notify dispatch that they need to be changed, reset or fix.  That is great because it makes the building more secure and hazardous things away.

  I patrolled around the park and was stopped by a staff member who was dressed in 18^th century clothing. He asked me to report dead squirrels in the park that cause disturbance to the visitors especially the kids. I told him I would notify the staff in R&VP and he thanked me. I patrolled around INDE until 1400 when I was asked to meet my Program Manager Ranger Krug for a package he had for me. I met him in front of Independence Hall and we spoke briefly because we both were working during that time. After he went back to his office I walked around Independence Hall to introduce myself to the dayshift Sectek guards. Since I have been on day shift I have gotten the chance to meet with a lot more NPS rangers and Sectek guards. Everyone is interested in the ProRanger program and I give them as much information as I can from the experience I have gotten here. The remainder of my shift I spent in the ranger station getting caught up on my blog.  I left INDE when my shift was over.