Missteps and Mistakes: Lessons Learned from Real-World Incidents

Sampling operations are complex situations involving numerous teams tracking multiple specimens while documenting the tasks. This chapter explores some missteps and mistakes encountered by the sampling community over the last several years, with an eye toward avoiding similar mistakes in the future. The real-world stories told in the chapter illustrate best practices that can be implemented during future sampling events. The information and stories presented were gathered from over 100 interviews with civilian and military sampling-team members from diverse backgrounds. The topics addressed are those that emerged as major themes during the interview process. Every interview conducted for this chapter touched on the crucial role of good information and careful planning in a successful sampling operation. Controlling the scene in large, prolonged, or high-profile incidents is very difficult, but the general tactics described still prove effective.