EMS Week 2025: We Salute EMS: Through Their Eyes

By Jason Pack

A Look Back at How EMS Began

There was a time when if you called for help, a hearse from the undertaker showed up. In the early days of emergency response, ambulances were often station wagons run out of the local funeral home. If the driver thought you had a chance, they took you to the hospital. If not, they might pull around back and wait. That was pre-hospital care in much of America. There was no oxygen, no trained personnel, and no medications. It was simply a fast ride and a quiet hope.

How a TV Show Changed a Nation

Things started to change in 1972 when the television show Emergency! aired across the country. The show followed Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics Johnnie Gage and Roy DeSoto as they responded to wrecks, heart attacks, and disasters. They carried defibrillators, started IVs, and talked to doctors by radio from the scene. For many viewers, it was the first time they had seen medical care delivered outside a hospital.

The show was not flashy. It did not rely on dramatic love stories or big cliffhangers. Instead, it planted a seed. It showed that you did not need to be a doctor to save a life. You only needed to show up, stay calm, and do the job. As a result, people listened. A new generation signed up to become EMTs and paramedics. Communities began building real EMS systems. The ambulance stopped being just a ride. It became a rolling emergency room.

The Reality of EMS Today

Today, Emergency Medical Services is one of the most vital areas of public safety. From big cities to small rural towns, EMTs and paramedics are the first to arrive when the unthinkable happens. They walk into the unknown every day. They lift patients from twisted metal, crawl through floodwaters, hold pressure on bullet wounds, and try to resuscitate babies who are not breathing.

They work at three in the morning, in the pouring rain, while being screamed at, covered in bodily fluids, or thanked with quiet tears. They miss holidays, family dinners, and sleep. Although the work is heavy, they keep going because someone has to.

Why EMS Week Still Matters

This week, we honor them. National EMS Week began in 1974 when President Gerald Ford set aside time to recognize the professionals who respond to life’s worst moments with skill and compassion. Even so, many people still do not understand what EMS teams do or what it takes to do it well.

Too often, EMTs and paramedics are still called “ambulance drivers.” That phrase does not reflect the complexity of their work. They assess strokes and heart attacks in minutes. They manage airways, deliver babies, and make split-second choices that can mean life or death. They work in chaos, moving quickly in tight spaces, on busy roads, and in homes full of fear.

The Challenges They Face

Unfortunately, the field is struggling. Fewer people are stepping into the job. Burnout is high and pay is low. Some communities rely on volunteers because they cannot afford full-time services. Hospitals are crowded, and EMS teams often wait in hallways with their patients because no beds are available. During those waits, they cannot respond to the next emergency.

Technology is advancing, and telemedicine is growing. Even so, no machine can replace the hands of a medic holding a bleeding wound or the calm voice that tells a mother her child will be all right. You cannot program empathy, and you cannot code courage.

A Call to Serve and a Message of Gratitude

That is why this week matters. It reminds us that behind every siren is a human being. It also challenges us to consider serving our communities. EMS is not easy work, but it is meaningful. When a heart stops or a child cannot breathe, you are the one they call.

To those who already serve, thank you. Whether you are a thirty-year medic, a rookie on your first shift, or a volunteer balancing this calling with a day job, your courage is seen and appreciated.

As I prepare for my next shift, I am lifting up every EMT and paramedic answering the call this week. You are the hands and feet of grace in people’s darkest hours. You are the heartbeat of your community. This week, we see you. And we thank God for you.

What the Diddy Case Got Wrong About Sex Trafficking Victims

After years working violent crimes against children and adult human trafficking, and serving on the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team, I learned a hard truth. Most people still do not understand how sex trafficking really works.

The verdict in the Sean “Diddy” Combs case created a wave of headlines and social media posts. I am less focused on the verdict itself and more on the public attention it brought to trafficking. This crime often hides in plain sight, and most people never see how it truly unfolds.

During my time recovering kids from streets, hotel rooms, and online exploitation cases, only one child ever ran into our arms like you see in movies. That moment came a few weeks after we rescued her. She was five. She had been exploited online by a relative. When things calmed down, she colored a dinosaur page and wrote, “To: Jason. Thanks,” then signed her name. The handwriting was crooked, the way a young child writes. It remains one of the purest gestures of gratitude I have ever received. I still have that page.

Most recoveries are not like that. Many victims fight the very people trying to help them. They have heard empty promises before. “We are here to help” sounds like another line. Some are angry. Some run. Some go back to the person hurting them because that is the world they know.

There are cases where the victim also has an active warrant. Maybe it came from a missed court date or a minor crime connected to their exploitation. Officers usually do not arrest them for whatever happened that day, especially when it is clear they are being trafficked. But old warrants still exist. Helping the victim often means dealing with those issues as well. From their point of view, help has never looked like a patrol car or a holding cell. No wonder they doubt us at first.

Ask anyone who has worked these cases and they will tell you the same thing. You often recover the same victim more than once. Then one day something changes. After seeing the same faces again and again, a victim will look at you and ask, “Why do you keep coming back?” That is the moment you work toward. That is when they start to believe you might actually care.

People also misunderstand how trafficking begins. It is rarely a stranger in a van or someone lurking near a playground. True stranger abductions are rare. That is why they make national news. Trafficking usually starts with someone the victim knows. Someone who pretends to care. Someone who gains control slowly, through emotional and psychological manipulation.

Even when a case reaches court, the challenges continue. Victims can be difficult witnesses. Trauma does not disappear when a trial date arrives. Some victims are scared or confused. Some lie to protect their trafficker. Some shut down when questioned. In heartbreaking situations, victims who were once exploited become part of the recruiting process for the trafficker. That makes prosecutors pause. It is hard to put someone on the stand when they have been both a victim and a participant under pressure.

I remember one case where the victim’s story changed several times after we recovered her. Her trauma was real, but her fear made her an uncertain witness. I was not perfect either. I was still learning. The only charge we could prove was a Mann Act violation. It gave us something solid, but the prosecutor would not move forward because she kept adjusting her story. I was frustrated, but traffickers count on exactly that. They know fear and trauma can weaken a case.

That is why the Mann Act remains so important. Even when proving force or coercion is difficult, the Mann Act allows law enforcement to act when a victim is transported across state lines for illegal purposes. It gives investigators a starting point and a way to begin pulling apart what is really happening. It is not a perfect solution, but sometimes it is the only tool that gets the victim out of the cycle.

I have worked with some of the finest agents, officers, and deputies in the country. These men and women show up day after day, knowing the emotional cost. They do it because they care about the victims and want to hold traffickers accountable.

The verdict in this case is finished. The media will move on. But tonight there are still kids in hotel rooms, backseats of cars, or unsafe homes who need help. For those of us who have seen trafficking up close, the work continues long after the headlines fade.

Jason Pack is a retired Supervisory Special Agent, former team leader of the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team and FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Agent. He is also the CEO of Media Rep Global Strategies.

 

Bunker-Busting from Home: Stop the Sleeper Cells in Your Computer

by Jason Pack, Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent

Many people picture Iranian hackers operating from a dark, high-tech war room buried deep in Tehran. Rows of glowing monitors. Walls covered with maps of American infrastructure. Teams of cyber operators tracking targets, launching attacks with the press of a button. It feels like something out of a spy thriller. But the reality is quieter and far closer to home.

These attackers do not need movie-style command centers. They need us to forget about our old devices, to ignore update alerts, to leave back doors open. What they want most is for us to do nothing.

I saw this firsthand during my brief time working as an agent on the FBI cyber squad last year. What surprised me most was not how advanced the attacks were, but how basic the entry points usually were: outdated internet equipment, default passwords, remote access never turned off, old devices forgotten in office closets or home basements.

They plant malware quietly and wait. These are digital sleeper cells. And many are already in place, scattered across our networks: schools, hospitals, small businesses, even homes.

During World War Two, blackout drills were common. My mother-in-law remembers one night in Miami when her family left a bathroom light on during a drill. The next morning, they found a sack of flour on their roof. It had been dropped by Civil Defense volunteers to show the family that their house would have been visible to enemy aircraft.

We no longer drop flour bags during drills. Today, that light is a weak password. It is outdated internet equipment. It is a wide-open digital window.

The risk is now online. The duty to act remains.

Iran is not the only country using these tactics. But Iranian cyber actors are among the most aggressive in exploiting vulnerable networks to hide their tracks, reroute attacks, and work around U.S. sanctions. When their government wants access to restricted American services or infrastructure, they often bounce through hijacked systems — small businesses, school networks, and outdated home devices — to mask their origins and avoid detection.

These compromised systems become infrastructure for attacks on others. Your network, if unsecured, could be the starting point for a major intrusion or disruption. That is not a scare tactic. It is how this works.

Cybersecurity evangelists have preached this for years. But with global tensions escalating, this is the moment to act. Updating your system now can be as effective as a bunker-busting missile was to Iran’s uranium program — less visible, but just as disruptive to their long-term capabilities.

Even if just 10,000 people updated their systems, closing access, patching vulnerabilities, we would reduce the number of compromised machines across the country.

If 100,000 people joined in, that’s a city the size of Knoxville, Tennessee, it would send a shockwave through the networks Iranian actors rely on. Every secured device is one less place to hide. Now imagine if one city in every state did this. You get the picture.

Our military and intelligence agencies are watching global threats. But we hold the home front.

This is how we help. This is how we show up.

You do not need a security clearance or a badge. You just need to act.

Update your system.

Pull the plug before they flip the switch.

Three Simple Steps

1. Update your devices. That legitimate pop-up asking for an update? Do not ignore it. Update your internet equipment, laptop, antivirus software, and apps.

2. Shut down what you are not using. Turn off old devices. Close remote access tools. Disable unused accounts and change any default passwords.

3. Train your people. Whether it is your family or your staff, show them how to spot fake emails and scams. Repeat the basics regularly.

Watch for Trouble

Signs your system might already be compromised:

  • Internet suddenly slow for no reason
  • Devices crash or restart randomly
  • Antivirus disables itself
  • Unknown logins or changes to settings

If that happens:

The Art of the “Steal” – How Anarchists Hijack Peaceful Protests

by Jason Pack, CEO Media Rep Global Strategies | Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent

Los Angeles blew up this week. Hundreds of people hit the streets after federal immigration agents conducted aggressive raids. What started as protest quickly shifted into something else: clashes with police, fires, and attacks on federal buildings.

The White House sent 700 Marines and over 4,000 National Guard troops under the Insurrection Act. California’s leaders called this move unconstitutional. But while politicians fight on camera, another story plays out in the shadows: this chaos isn’t just happening. People are planning it.

Law enforcement analysts blame a core group of organized anarchists—about 60 individuals—slipped into the protest crowds. They didn’t come to march. They came to carry out a plan they’ve been developing for years. Slogans aren’t their thing. They rely on structure. And when they hit the streets, it shows.

The anarchists plan before they even show up. They use encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Telegram to coordinate everything: where to meet, who brings what. They discuss how to blend in, where to watch police, and how to respond when law enforcement pushes back. They assign role

* “Medics” carry backpacks with gauze, eye wash, and tourniquets—often marked with red crosses.
* “Scouts” relay police movements by bike or foot.
* “Shield teams” carry makeshift barriers made from trash can lids, plywood, or strong umbrellas.
* “Media ops” record confrontations, edit the video, and spread it online to control the story.
* “Saboteurs” bring tools—bolt cutters, hammers, fire starters—and target cameras, infrastructure, and federal property.

Many arrive late, dressed in black. They quickly change clothes afterward to avoid being identified.

They know where cameras are, how to create gaps in police lines, and how to spark crowd reactions that lead to violence.

These aren’t agitators just reacting to the moment. In fact, they may not even care about the issue at hand. They’re teams on a mission to steal trust by hijacking peaceful protests.

When these groups act, they don’t start small. They target highly visible places—bridges, courthouses, highways. They use distractions and speed, forcing police to react, then record that reaction. Their goal is to provoke. The video becomes fuel, spreading fast on social media to draw in more people and keep tensions high.

This tactic worked in 2020. They’re using it again now, and it’s getting more sophisticated.

Federal officials argue military support is necessary to keep order. California’s leadership insists it violates state control. Lawsuits are flying. Meanwhile, on the ground, officers behind the shield literally holding the line and citizens just trying to go to and from work, are stuck in the middle.

So far, police arrested over 70 people. Investigators believe several of those arrested directly helped plan and carry out destructive acts.

The FBI’s Los Angeles field office released a seeking information poster , quickly, looking to identify the man who tossed a cinder block, injuring an ICE Agent.

Expect to see more of this behind-the-scenes working become public more quickly. The new FBI leadership will use these arrests timely to show they won’t tolerate violence against police.

These anarchist groups don’t represent the larger protest movement. But they’re good at hijacking it.

They turn public anger into confrontation, then disappear into the smoke, leaving communities to deal with the damage. Their methods are professional.

Their motives are radical. And their impact is growing.

Ignoring them lets them move more freely. Overreacting feeds their strategy. The challenge is to clearly separate protest from provocation—and stick to that line.

When you consume information about these events, seek context.

Don’t let yourself get pulled in without understanding the full picture.

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