Meet the FirstNet Response Operations Group (ROG)

Fred Scalera is the Director of Program Management and the Response Operations Group for the FirstNet Program at AT&T. He is responsible for facilitating collaborative innovation with FirstNet users and public safety. 

Fred Scalera has a long history of public safety service and innovation. He retired in 2008 as a deputy chief with the Nutley Fire Department in New Jersey. During his time with the Nutley Fire Department, Fred worked on the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Task Force. He was the first Fire Service Arson Investigator to attend a police academy and served as an instructor at the Essex County Police Academy for over 25 years.  

During his career with the Fire Service and municipal government, he became a certified fire official. Other responsibilities included radio communications, the Township Information Technology Bureau and the Emergency Management Coordinator. In addition to serving his home Township of Nutley, Fred served Essex County as a deputy sheriff, deputy director of the County Office of Emergency Management and the Hazardous Material Coordinator. 

Fred served in the New Jersey State Legislature, rising to be the deputy speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and serving as Chairman of the Homeland Security Preparedness Committee. He also served as the Bureau Chief of Interoperable Communications and was responsible for New Jersey as one of the FirstNet Early Builder projects. 

Chris Stratmann, Program Management Section Chief, Response Operations Group, is responsible for all administrative and logistics functions of the group, providing strategic and tactical support for planned, urgent and emergent events in response to customer requests. 

Col. Stratmann joined AT&T in March 2018 after retiring from the U.S. Air Force and Kansas National Guard in 2017. He joined the ROG team in June 2020. From 2008 until retiring, Chris was the chief information officer for the Kansas National Guard and responsible for the operation and maintenance of the statewide network and National Guard tactical and deployable communications equipment. He oversaw the state Office of Emergency Communications and served as the Emergency Support Function 2 (Communications) lead for the State Emergency Operations Center.  

His department provided training for the Kansas Statewide Interoperable Communications P25 trunked radio system and had responsibility for the system’s deployable assets. 

Chris was the original FirstNet Single Point of Contact for Kansas in 2012. Until his retirement, he served as a primary member of the Kansas Governor’s team that evaluated and developed state requirements for FirstNet. 

Mark Durr, Section Chief for FEMA Region 5, is the tactical lead for all requests from public safety for FirstNet coverage needs within his region. He directs all activities to identify and implement the appropriate solutions to meet customer requirements for planned and emergent events. And he’s the ROG representative for FEMA activities within his region. 

Mark began his public service career in 1987 with the Illinois National Guard. In 1989, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving 13 years. This included tours in Germany and Korea and stateside duty at Fort Campbell in Kentucky with the 101st Airborne and at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and Fort Bragg in North Carolina with the 82nd Airborne.  

After completing his tour of duty, Mark joined Ameritech, which later became SBC and then a part of AT&T. He worked 18 years in various roles in sales, customer relations, and sales operations before joining the FirstNet Program. 

Mark holds a bachelor’s in science with a minor in psychology.

Robert Komoroski, Section Chief for FEMA Regions 2 and 3, is the tactical lead for all requests from public safety for FirstNet coverage needs within his regions. He directs all activities to identify and implement solutions to meet customer requirements for planned and emergent events. And he’s the ROG representative for FEMA activities within his region. 

Robert joined AT&T after a 29-year career with the New Jersey State Police. He graduated from the NJSP Academy in February 1988 as a general road duty trooper and served at various locations and positions within the Field Operations Section and the Emergency Management Section.  

Responsibilities included supervising a staff to conduct pre-service training, recertifying over 300 public safety telecommunicators and enlisted supervisors in 9-1-1 emergency communications, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), emergency medical dispatch and CPR. He instituted a quality assurance program that identified topics for annual in-service training. 

Robert was Region 3 Assistant Supervisor for the Emergency Management Section of the Communications Bureau when he retired in February 2017.

Bob Picariello, Section Chief for FEMA Region 1, is the tactical lead for all requests from public safety for FirstNet coverage needs within his region. He directs all activities to identify and implement solutions to meet customer requirements for planned and emergent events. And he’s the ROG representative for FEMA activities within his region. 

Before joining AT&T, Chief Robert Picariello (Ret.) was in law enforcement in the Town of Marblehead, MA, for over 35 years, retiring in July 2021. He began his law enforcement career with the Marblehead Police Department in the early 1980’s, becoming a full-time patrol officer in 1987. He ascended through the ranks, holding the positions of sergeant and lieutenant before becoming chief of police in 2007. 

Chief Picariello is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, past president of the Essex County Chiefs of Police Association and the 2nd vice president of the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, a regional partnership of more than 60 police departments in Essex and Middlesex counties.

James (Jim) Fiduccia, as a Response Operations Group Section Chief, is responsible as the tactical lead for all requests from public safety for FirstNet coverage needs within his area of responsibility. He directs all activities toward identifying and implementing the appropriate solution(s) to meet customer requirements for both planned and emergent events.

James maintains visibility and control of the deployed solution throughout the life-cycle of the event in order to ensure continuity and the ability to adjust to dynamic environments. He cultivates and maintains collaborative relationships with internal and external partners, guaranteeing a cohesive response. He supports a strong state engagement program within his region and works with respective states to draft and maintain individual state agreements which guide our response. He also represents ROG to FEMA activities within his region.

As part of ROG, James is a specialist in deployable LTE communications equipment and technology and is adept at responding with and employing a wide variety of solutions