Disaster Relief training pipeline

[resq1192]

Hi all,

I wanted to solicit some opinions on a project I've wanted to float to the Wing command staff.  Out my way, we do a decent amount of ES SAR training but "miss hte boat" when it comes to disaster relief training.  I'm also a Disaster Services instructor for the red cross.  I was planning on floating the idea of a "Disaster Relief training institute" to my bosses at RC and to the Wing Command staff. This would be  a wing-wide initiative to improve ES capabilities in regard to disaster responses not involving a downed aircraft/lost hiker, etc.  Any thoughts?

[Eclipse]

We "miss the boat" because in many cases the types of operations "missed" are outside out scope.

For example, we are not shelter managers, but for some reason people keep wanting us to get in that business.

What kinds of training are you talking about?

[Smithsonia]

We have taken CERT (Civilian Emergency Response Teams (training)) and substituted this training for general CAP Disaster Relief. There is an additional advantage to this in that the CERT training is done by Counties, Disaster Management, EMS, and Fire Depts, so we get liaison alliances and brownie points too.

There is even an additional advantage for CERT. In many communities, due to ES cut backs, trainers are tough to come by. So CAP organizing the Federally mandated training looks good to every body. So even if you take it from one county, then propagate it into one of these hard pressed counties, the sheriff or county manager will love you. By the way - we haven't actually done this "instructing" portion but made the calculation. Some of our CERT guys are going to a "train the trainers" CERT weekend soon. I'll do the same later this winter.

[RiverAux]

If CAP would ever actually decide what they want our ground personnel doing during disasters, I would be all for a focused training program.  As it stands now we have no real assigned ground DR missions.  Sure, after every disaster some random units end up doing some random things, but its rarely because the task was something that CAP has any particular training for or interest in. 

Do we want to be shelter managers?  Sandbaggers?  Work command posts?  Or do we want to generally continue to do nothing on the ground while the aircrews take photos? 

[CommGeek]

Actually, National is looking deeper into the CERT concept (Community Emergency Response Team).  When FEMA was talking about catastrophic planning a while back,  CAP came up as force multipliers to augment USAR Teams, as non-technical urban SAR.  National likes the idea. A national committee is actually working the concept as we speak.

[Eclipse]

CAP Ground teams already exceed CERT capabilities and adding another group of letters to our 101 cards won't change readiness, response, or mission without making the relationships in advance.

I agree the CERT connection is good for local connections, but with or without it won't change what we do or can do.

[Smithsonia]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eclipse:
I agree that CAP GT has higher quals than CERT. Although I must say I learned a lot that I didn't know before like mass casualty assessment and triage. No CPR for victims, no spending more than a minute or two on any one body -- if they are shocky or not breathing, black tag'em, tell them you'll be back in a bit and move on. So that is quite different than my standard first aid training. Also I knew nothing about post disaster urban environmental hazards and had no training in earthquake search and rescue before CERT.

HOWEVER, that is not the point really. Air Force Fighter Pilots still have to go through our Stan/Eval system. The same is true for those we work with. The Disaster Missions will go through Disaster Management at the Federal, State, or County level. These leaders need to know us. These leaders need to rely on us. CERT starts the process. Otherwise our reputation of "not playing nice with others", persists.

Take CERT. Be a CERT. CERT's worth it.

[CommGeek]

It adds credibility to CAP.  if you tell a non CAPer that were UDF, GTM1 they have no clue what you are talking about.  But as soon as you say CERT everyone knows what your capabilities are...instant credibility.

[sarmed1]

Do some searching here: I beleive this horse has been beat a few times: 
Some highlights that come to mind:

Its hard to come up with a "universal" disaster track; as the scope of likely disasters vary from location to location so things need to be either very general or location specifc in the specialty area.

CERT is a nice course; however its not meant to be a proffesional qualification; CERT teams are meant to be a stop gap measure of local citizens to try (I repeat try) to minimize disaster impact until a real USAR/Fire/medical team can get in amongst the chaos.

The disaster relief world is very customer driven:  Its hard to train up for a mission without first making the relationships that will get you called out for that mission;  and equally as hard to figure out which mission that is so you can train for it to sell our services to the associated EMA.

Some areas/wings have come up with Disaster training qualifications based on their known disasters or actually mission taskings they get from their associated EMA's; I would start looking at some of them.  Florida wing comes to mind as one.

FLWG used to have a very extensive DR training program: basic, intermediate and advanced training programs including as "Special Operations" capability; most of that fell by the wasy side a few years back; when I was ES/Ops officer in FL i developed the folowing training program/guidline:
1 CAP General Emergency Services Training CAPT 116 Part I & II
2 ICS 100 Basic Incident Command System FEMA IS 100 or equivilent
3 Adult CPR with Automated External Deffibrilator
4 Basic First Aid Training
5 Recognizing and Identifying Hazardous Materials FEMA IS-5 or equivilent
6 Basic Communications for Emergency Services
7 [ ] Have 12, 24 and 72 hour individual Gear and Equipment
   [ ] Describe in order, how to REPLENISH, REPAIR, REPACK and REST after a  sortie/mission.
8 Bloodborne Pathogens
[ ]Describe the concept of Universal Precautions
[ ]Demonstrate application and removal of personal protective equipment
9 Risk Management for CAP ES missions [ ]Identify the 6 steps of risk management
10 Critical Incident Stress Management [ ]Define the four common Critical Incidnet Reactions and give an example of each
11 Legal Issues for CAP Emergency Services-Define the restrictions on
CAP ES operations in regards to the following: [ ]Posse Commitus [ ]Tresspass
[ ]Use of Force [ ] Negligent Liability
12 Fire Extinguisher Use [ ]Describe the Fire Tetrahedeon
[ ]Describe the 4 classifications of combustable materials
[ ]What does the acronym P.A.S.S. stand for?

1 Organization of Disaster Relief Operations
Complete FEMA IS 292 Disaster Basics
[ ] Florida Wing CAP Disaster Operations
[ ] Recon [ ] Forward Control Team
2 Command Structure: Complete the following:
[ ] FEMA IS 200 Incident Command System
[ ] FEMA IS 700 National Incident Management System
[ ] FEMA IS 800 National Response Plan
3 Light Debris Removal
Complete IS-632 Introduction to Debris Operations in FEMA's Public
Assistance Program
4 Radio Communications
Complete Advanced Communications User Training
5 Describe the hazards associated with common utilities and describe
the shut off procedures for [ ] Water [ ] Gas [ ] Electric
6 Damage Assessment
[ ] Complete Red Cross Damage Assessment Course or equivilent
[ ] Demonstrates ability to fill out damage assessment form
7 Photographic Target Assessment
Describe attributes of good picture taking during damage assessment
missions.
8 Helicopter Operations, Safety and Landing Zone
[ ] Aircraft safety concerns [ ] LZ requirements, hazard identification and marking
[ ] Aircraft communications [ ] Marshalling signals
9 Swift/Flood Water Safety
[ ] Basic swim test 100m any style, tread water 2 minutes
[ ] Personal safety considerations [ ] Rescue Sequence
[ ] Self Rescue [ ] Use of throw bags
10 Small Boat Safety and Operations
[ ] Open Water Safety Considerations
[ ] Manual Boat Operations
[ ] Swamped/Overturned Boat Procedures
11 Urban Search and Rescue Awarenss
[ ] Identify sizeup requirements for USAR situations
[ ] Describe the most common techniques for searching a structure
[ ] Describe marking of searched structures
12 Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)
Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction for First Responders


mk

[wuzafuzz]

In Colorado Wing we have received a fair number of requests for disaster relief assistance.  YMMV. 

Typically we've accepted everyone with a GES to be our DR boots on the ground, instead of requiring a ground team rating.  It's my belief that GES is insufficient.  While GTM shares some traits with CERT it is not a good fit either. CERT adequately fills the gap for the types of things CAP is usually tasked to do in DR.  Plus, as others mentioned, CERT has the advantage of recognition outside CAP.

CERT, at it's most basic is intended to teach people to better take care of themselves and their families instead of depending on that mythical "someone else" when resources are scarce.  At that level it can be viewed as an optional yet valuable element of a citizenship program, fitting squarely into the mission of cadet programs.  Of course adults can play too.

In spite of the "T" for "team" in the acronym, CERT training does not require membership in an organized team. While attendance at CERT training may include a sales pitch to join or create a local team, you can take the training and run.  Many jurisdictions are happy to teach people basic preparedness, how to use fire extinguishers, not to run into burning or heavily damaged buildings, and so on.  If all it does is teach our members not to be canaries in camouflage, it's a good thing.

Even if CAP never defines our role in DR, CERT training can still have value to CAP.

[resq1192]

Thanks for the input so far.  What has been kicked around is that there is a lot of Red Cross training courses "required" in the regs for "Disaster Relief" training for acting as an available resource in disasters.  We had some large-scale flooding in New England this past March and that got everyone kicking around the idea. Many members in my area are of the consensus that if ES interested members pursued some of these RC classes they would provide an available for ce to provide CAP assistance when requested by our state EMA for missions other than the typical CAP stuff.  It would also qualify more of our personnel for the Disaster Relief Ribbon by getting the courses under their belts.  Basically I and a few other CAP folk who are also RC instructors would provide the training for other interested members in the wing.  We would do it in a weekend in course block format.  Any thoughts?

[CommGeek]

The regs that mention Red Cross are very dated.  Some of the red cross classes mentioned dont even exist.

I think the point is that its great to train for disasters with CAP.  But if your wing dosent have a working relationship with your State EMA, then your wasting your members time to think that the State will call you out....they dont even know you exist.  It also goes back to credibility, if your EMA knows your are CERT trained they instantly know your capability

[Eclipse]

In the situations where we have assisted the ARC and special training was required (i.e damage assessment), the training was provided on the spot.

Within CAP there are no ARC classes "required" for anything but the DR ribbon.

[RiverAux]

The shelter management class is ok though I would make sure that somone locally is actually intersted in using CAP for that purpose before starting the training. 

[Hawk200]

I'm starting to wonder if maybe if there needs to be something like the original Civil Defence (sic) Corps again. Granted, a lot of the various volunteer functions of the original Civil Defence (sic) Corps are parts of various agencies now, but there's probably a few that could be utilized.

Instead of CAP trying to handle a major load of Distaster Relief Functions, utilize CAP as a component of a greater organizational structure. It would probably be fairly easy considering the way ICS is outlined (and supposed to function).

[resq1192]

Hi everyone,
Thanks once again for the continued input.  Our wing is fortunate to  have a good working relationship with our state EMA.  That's part of the reasoning behind this idea I'm floating.  Many state EMA personnel know that CAP is capable of more mission performance than just SAR and is looking to us for trained manpower to assist other agencies (state/local EMA, Red Cross, etc) to fill in the blanks.  For reasons unkown to me, CERT was floated as a training pipeline to meet that request (I myself have undergone CERT training ... was an interesting experience for an FF/EMT in that class ... made me thing of what old-school CD training was like) but for some reason rejected.  The plan that seems to be "getting the upcheck" right now is using the Red Cross training as outlined in the DRR quals to meet that goal.  Thus the idea I'm presenting.  No idea if this backstory provides any more insight for opinions, but ... there it is ...

Everyone's continued interest and input on this topic is most appreciated.

[RADIOMAN015]

The key issue to remember is that CAP members have to remain under CAP control.  You can't just send 2 CAP members to be on a team made up of other CERT or Red Cross Shelter Members.   CAP directly supervises their membership.  Any agreement has to be crafted to reflect CAP specific control and also our right to pull out members from any mission if we deem necessary.

Currently on the ground team side of CAP, in some(maybe many) wings there's very little actual mission activity for the amount of member required training and equipment to become qualified.   Also when you introduce cadets into the CERT/Shelter training, what will the using agency actually allow as far as the minimum age limits? Do you train under age cadets just for the sake of training?

Surely, for senior/adult members it is better to be on an AF sponsored CAP mission than on a CERT or Red Cross Team because if you are injuried it's unlikely they are going to pay very much for your volunteerism (maybe medical expenses, although I understand CERT members have had to sign waivers -- that's the reason why in my community I won't be a CERT member).

RM

[cap235629]

The key issue to remember is that CAP members have to remain under CAP control.  You can't just send 2 CAP members to be on a team made up of other CERT or Red Cross Shelter Members.   CAP directly supervises their membership.  Any agreement has to be crafted to reflect CAP specific control and also our right to pull out members from any mission if we deem necessary.

Currently on the ground team side of CAP, in some(maybe many) wings there's very little actual mission activity for the amount of member required training and equipment to become qualified.   Also when you introduce cadets into the CERT/Shelter training, what will the using agency actually allow as far as the minimum age limits? Do you train under age cadets just for the sake of training?

Surely, for senior/adult members it is better to be on an AF sponsored CAP mission than on a CERT or Red Cross Team because if you are injuried it's unlikely they are going to pay very much for your volunteerism (maybe medical expenses, although I understand CERT members have had to sign waivers -- that's the reason why in my community I won't be a CERT member).

RM

Define under CAP control.  You can integrate members onto a mixed team as long as one of the members assigned to the team is in control of the other members assigned to the team.  Control is relative.

[RiverAux]

You can't just send 2 CAP members to be on a team made up of other CERT or Red Cross Shelter Members. 

Sure you could.  Just so long as one of those CAP members is in charge of the other CAP member and is either an IC or is reporting to an off-scene IC and that it is understood that the CAP members may or may not do everything that the other members of the team are doing based on our regulations.

There isn't any essential difference in that and having a CAP GT participating in a search with other SAR agencies under the command of the county sheriff. 

CAP is always in charge of CAP, but that doesn't mean we can't take direction from others -- just that we make the final call on whether or not what we are asked to do is okay with what our regulations allow us to do. 

[LTC Don]

Under Incident Command, if an agency has representatives working at the branch level (well, any level for that matter), then there should be an agency liaison.  That Agency Liaison rep should be a CAP rated IC, even if they aren't the overall IC for the incident.  CAP first and foremost is a "force multiplier" or assisting agency in many cases and we need to be able to adjust our mindset on the fly.

If there is not a member assigned as the agency liaison (but MUST be actively pursued), then CAP personnel can still report in as long as a mission number has been assigned, and someone back at the home base is coordinating the response.  The senior CAP member on the scene working the incident must keep track of what the other members are doing by some mechanism.  Certainly, cadets could not be allowed to report in freelance.  Senior representation must be there.

My very first mission as a cadet had me deploying on a sortie with a mixed SAR team for a missing person.  We were assisting another agency for this search.  Other senior and cadet personnel were helping in other areas but I was by myself on that sortie.  The earth didn't crack open, and no lightning was witnessed.

This notion of always having to have a CAP IC assigned before anyone can move is ridiculous and has caused major problems since we still don't seem to understand how ICS works.

If we are assisgned an aircraft search as the responsible agency, then sure, we need to assign an Incident Commander.  In all other instances, we are the assisting agency, we do not assign an Incident Commander, we assign an Agency Liaison, to coordinate CAP assistance as either a strike team or task force or whatever our task(s) is/are for the incident.

Here in N.C., we are looking to re-invigorate our CERT initiative started in 2008 with the state after some changes in the CERT office at Emergency Management.  Being trainers brings about a whole set of unique issues including dealing wth fire extinguishers (testing, refilling, etc.), extrication equipment/props, moulage, etc.

We are also moving forward on a new initiative with Emergency Management on a new project called Points of Distribution, which has a short FEMA course called IS-26.  With our unified human resources spread around the state, it makes us well positioned to take on this type of tasking.  Our first formal training is next month.

Disaster Relief has been the step-child for a lot of years.  And since we don't do it very often, we keep trying to apply old or current, and sometimes inappropriate paradigms to it.  Some standardization is definitely needed but what form that will take remains to be seen.


Cheers,