1. The agency has established a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Program which is designed to proactively manage the common disruptive physical, mental, and emotional factors that an employee may experience after a critical incident (i.e., accidents/incidents, such as an aviation disaster with loss of life, the death of a co-worker, acts of terrorism, bomb threats, exposure to toxic materials, prolonged rescue or recovery operations, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes). Upon request, an employee involved in or witnessing a critical incident shall be relieved from operational duties as soon as feasible.

2. The agency's CISD Program is an educational process designed to minimize the impact of a critical incident on employees. It is not intended to evaluate employees in terms of gathering factual information about employee performance or to be a mechanism for psychological assessment.

3. The union will designate a bargaining unit employee to serve as a member of a CISD team. The union at the national level may designate up to three (3) bargaining unit employees to receive formal CISD training to be available for this purpose.

4. CISD training will be provided to the union designees referenced in Sections 3 and 8 of this Memorandum on official time, if otherwise in a duty status, and shall entitle the participants to travel and per diem allowances. The agency agrees to adjust the schedule(s) of participants in order to allow them to participate in a duty status.

5. Whenever the agency determines to send out a CISD team, the union designee shall he relieved as soon as operationally possible from his/her normal duties to proceed immediately to the scene. The agency shall adjust the union designee's schedule to allow for travel and participation in CISD activities. Official time, travel, and per diem expenses shall be authorized for the CISD team member.

6. The Principal Facility Representative or his/her designee will he notified a reasonable time in advance whenever employees will be required to attend mandatory critical incident stress debriefings.

7. When a determination is made to implement the formal CISD briefing, all affected employees will he notified and will be required to attend. Besides the CISD professional, only those employees whose attendance is required will be permitted to attend this briefing. Upon completion of the mandatory briefing, the CISD professional will notify the employees that a licensed counselor will he available for bargaining unit employees who desire additional CISD services. The use of EAP services will be provided in accordance with the provisions of Article 73 NAATS/FAA Agreement and applicable agency directives.

8. The union at the national level may designate one (1) Peer Support Team member per region. These employees work with their jurisdiction's EAP Manager to educate co-workers about normal reactions to stressful incidents, and are an informal resource for peers. Peer support teams do not replace professional counseling or the formal CISD program. If requested, bargaining unit employees shall only receive peer support from, other bargaining unit employees.

9. The CISD Program shall be administered in accordance with applicable agency directives and this Memorandum.