Stewart-HAAF enables 911 texts

Reaching a new milestone in an ongoing effort to modernize the 911 call center serving Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, these military installations are the first nationwide that can provide emergency assistance through text messages.

Benjamin Collins, the 911 operations manager at Fort Stewart’s emergency communications center that also serves Hunter Army Airfield, sits at an upgraded responder console. [NICK ROBERTSON/

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According to Benjamin Collins, the 911 operations manager at Fort Stewart’s emergency communications center that also serves Hunter Army Airfield, the addition of Text-to-911 technology at the installations could prove crucial in incidents of domestic assault, abduction or any other crime in which making a voice call to 911 would alert perpetrators to a victim’s plea for help.

The option to text for emergency assistance could be instrumental “anytime where the caller is in a life-threatening situation where they can’t safely talk on the phone,” Collins said.

The addition of Text-to-911 capabilities at the installation is enhanced by other recent upgrades to the communication center’s toolbox. In autumn of 2018, Collins supervised the adoption of RapidSOS technology, which provides emergency responders with precise location data from cellphones and other connected devices.

With these combined capabilities, a crime victim who sends a single text message to the installations’ 911 center can be located within a few yards, and even tracked if the caller is in motion.

For Collins, who aims to make the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield communications center the nation’s most advanced 911 facility, this progress represents a major step toward modernizing the science of emergency management.

“The receiving of 911 calls is all based on copper-wire technology,” Collins said. “We’re taking a proactive approach.”

The Fort Stewart-based call center launched the Text-to-911 system in September but delayed announcing the feature until recent weeks to allow for extensivetesting,Collinssaid.

While text-based emergency assistance is now fully functional at the installations, this capability is still not as efficient as reaching 911 operators through traditional voice calls, as standard message-transferring delays are possible depending on wireless carriers.

“Call if you can, text if you can’t,” Collins advises for anyone at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield who needs emergency assistance.

Both the Text-to-911 and RapidSOS capabilities were installed at no cost to the Fort Stewart emergency communications center, as the texting option is based on existing SMS technology, and RapidSOS is provided for free with data from Apple, Google and other major tech companies.

The 911 center also recently installed new ergonomically designed consoles with adjustable monitors for responders, and added a small stress-management room furnished with comfortable seating and soft lighting that staff can use during breaks, Collins said.

Looking ahead, Collins is eager to adopt Next Generation 911 technology that would enable victims to send live video footage to emergency responders while calling for help, but this upgrade will not available for awhile yet.

“The industry is still defining Next Gen 911,” Collins said. “We’ll end up being a recipient of that at some point.”