In the event of severe winter weather, dangerous heat conditions, an active shooter, a release of hazardous materials, tornados or other emergencies effect Marine Corps Base Quantico, those who work and live aboard the base will soon have a new way of being notified.

MCB Quantico is finalizing the implementation of the Quantico Mass Notification System to facilitate rapid communication in the event mass notification is needed.

Individuals with a usmc.mil email address can register for an account. During registration, they choose how they wish to be notified during an emergency, including via pop-up notification on their NMCI computer, personal and work email addresses, and text message to their cell phone. Depending on the situation, the system will continue sending notifications to the various mediums a user has selected until it can confirm receipt of the message, which could prove valuable in certain scenarios.

“The mass notification system provides an essential aspect of our base emergency response plans,” said Peter Russett, the mission assurance director for MCB Quantico. “It allows critical, time-sensitive information and required actions to be rapidly disseminated to the base population.”

Though only those with usmc.mil email accounts can self-register to receive alerts, the base is working with affected commands and tenants to manually enter their key leaders into the system so they receive the notifications. These leaders will in turn notify personnel within their organization in the event of an emergency.

MCB Quantico will send out emails with instructions on how to register for the system Dec. 9, and is scheduled to test the system Dec. 20.

The mass notification system, which is being implemented at installations throughout the Marine Corps as the Marine Corps Mass Notification System, can notify all individuals who have registered or limit notifications to a certain geographic area.

“The system is capable of targeting specific buildings, commands or locations, provided that accurate data with that information was input into the system by a user,” explained Russett. “Though this feature is not needed for all messages, it allows specific areas of the base to be targeted with a message that may not apply to other areas.”

As an example, Russett said that in the event of a hazardous material spill on the main side of the base, the system would send an alert to personnel on main side to shelter in place, while the alert sent to the west side of the base would instruct individuals to avoid main side.

Quantico is scheduled to have the system fully implemented and operational by Jan. 1, increasing the base’s ability to communicate quickly in an emergency.

“When combined with the giant voice mass notification external and internal speakers, MCB Quantico will have the ability to communicate with the majority of the base population within minutes of an emergency,” said Russett.

For instructions on how to sign up for notifications please click here. For questions and assistance please email MCNCR_MA@usmc.mil  or call 703 784-6693.