MRO's days numbered?

[Eclipse]

About two weeks ago, while discussing the upcoming ICUT, the Wing DC mentioned that Mission Radio Operator would be
going away soon, and the CUL quals would be changing as well.

The reasoning being that anyone with ICUT should be capable of the basicv radio operations done by the average MRO.
Anyone else heard that?

I need a requal, but there's no point if this is coming soon.

[arajca]

I hadn't heard that on the DC email list. Maybe something will come at the National Communications Managers' meeting.

[wuzafuzz]

That would be news to me, and I'm a wing DC.  Either I missed it somehow or that's inaccurate.  I do believe the communications curriculum will eventually include a lot more training beyond ICUT, focused on those in the communications specialty track and certain related job assignments.  However I don't think we'll soon realize a demise of MRO's or CUL's.

I would like to see us move closer to the COM-L, COM-T, and RADO desingnators used in ICS, but I haven't heard of any movement in that direction either.

Edited to fix a typo.

[ol'fido]

This is just a symptom to me of the fact that CAP only pays superficial attention to ICS. We either need to go whole hog with ICS(forms and all) or go home. Anyone who has taken the AUXCOMM class from FEMA will tell you that unless you can show up at an incident looking professional and using the proper ICS forms and terminology, you will be asked to go home. BTW, CAP is desribed by FEMA as a "SPECIAL NEEDS ORGANIZATION". Take from that what you will.

[Garibaldi]

BTW, CAP is desribed by FEMA as a "SPECIAL NEEDS ORGANIZATION". Take from that what you will.

I'm glad I have a helmet...

[Extremepredjudice]

BTW, CAP is desribed by FEMA as a "SPECIAL NEEDS ORGANIZATION". Take from that what you will.

Probably because we have short buses vans

[Garibaldi]

BTW, CAP is desribed by FEMA as a "SPECIAL NEEDS ORGANIZATION". Take from that what you will.

Probably because we have short buses vans

since WHEN is a 15-pack a short van???

[denverpilot]

BTW, CAP is desribed by FEMA as a "SPECIAL NEEDS ORGANIZATION". Take from that what you will.

Probably because we have short buses vans

since WHEN is a 15-pack a short van???

When you compare it to stuff like this, which are pretty much ubiquitous in Public Safety these days...



(Copied from a random website full of photos of the things...  http://www.mbfindustries.com/ )

Here's JUST the Denver Airport's toys...



And two tiny people in front who apparently were involved in spending all that money, but are so small in the photo, you'd only know who they are if you knew them personally.

Those are not short vans.

[Eclipse]

No - those are very expensive tactikewl RVs.  Uber sweet, but unnecessary for CAP.

[denverpilot]

No - those are very expensive tactikewl RVs.  Uber sweet, but unnecessary for CAP.

Unnecessary for most of the folks that have them, actually.

It was just a continuation of the short bus joke.

And a minor additional observation that they show up with an RV, a cache of radios, chargers, satellite Internet access, air conditioning (ha!), generators, laptops pre-loaded, programming cables, software, and all tools to re-task, etc...

And we show up with 10 folks in a van, one mobile radio, and maybe a handheld. Oh, and a 100W HF.

There's a point where even if we don't truly *need* certain things, showing up looking like that is going to get you looked down on. Deserved or undeserved.

The reaction is, "How quaint!" from those with budgets.

They're playing on a different playing field. I know. About five orders of magnitude bigger budgets, too.

Thus, just my contribution to "special needs" joking around. We often LOOK like we're riding the short bus, whether that is our intention or not.

Best to be on your game big-time, when showing up looking like the red-headed budgetary step-child. Just about every County here has a rolling big box, as well as numerous Federal and State agencies, and as evidenced by the above photo, one major airport has *four* of them...

[Eclipse]

And we show up with 10 folks in a van, one mobile radio, and maybe a handheld. Oh, and a 100W HF.

Maybe in your wing...

[Garibaldi]

No - those are very expensive tactikewl RVs.  Uber sweet, but unnecessary for CAP.

WIWG has a Winnebago(?) they use for a tactical command post. Comes in handy for EAA and the WIWG REDCAP.

[Eclipse]

SARKID's ears just perked up...

[denverpilot]

Maybe in your wing...

Heh. Perhaps. The point being that's the perception, sometimes. 

I have access to an ex-Air Force equivalent of a TV News van and have brought it out to play a couple of times (right now, the darn thing blew a compressor and needs repairs, and the former owners lashed the power leads in so short that pulling the compressor power lines will require tearing out part of a wall)...

The pneumatic mast comes in darn handy at some locations. When it's operable. (Grumble... going to have to help the owner fix that...)

...and our DC is hoping to fund a multi-use trailer through his squadron funds.

But there's no National fleet of similar vehicles to what crowds the closest parking lot, at any major multi-agency event these days. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting 10 commercially-built heavy duty Command/Communications vehicles at any serious event anymore.

One Amateur Radio group around here with admittedly an over-abundance of former Public Safety folk, has built three trailers for Communications in the last four years or so... two of which were sold to government agencies, one to a neighbor-State DHS group, and another to neighboring-State Emergency Services agency. 

They were built VERY well. No expense spared, and the proceeds from each went into buying the next one.  Bigger and better equipped each time. Nice setups. 

I have neither the personal assets to front such a project nor the time off work necessary to build one.

Sorry to drag the thread off topic. It was mostly just kidding around.  I don't expect CAP to show up as well-equipped as those folks.

One can dream, though.

[Garibaldi]

SARKID's ears just perked up...

Meh, I'm sure he knows about it. It's been around for a long while.

[Eclipse]

That's not what I meant - he's BTDT, worked it.  (I've been there, was told to go away and had to sleep next to the !@#$ generator all night).

[wuzafuzz]

Heck, even that low budget multi-use trailer is feeling like a pipe dream lately.  I think we'll be nomadic CUL's and MRO's for the foreseeable future.    every day is field day around here!

[arajca]

Best to be on your game big-time, when showing up looking like the red-headed budgetary step-child. Just about every County here has a rolling big box, as well as numerous Federal and State agencies, and as evidenced by the above photo, one major airport has *four* of them...

However, once you leave the big city lights, they aren't prevelent. My county, only 70 mi away from DenverPilot's turf, doesn't have one. We have a 10' hicube former Hazmat command post that the Hazmat team retired and the county took in exchange for a 4x4 ambulance they were retiring.

If you keep going out, the next comm rv mobile communications center, Type 1, is another 200 miles.

And some of those agencies put up so many obstacles, er, conditions, that the units seldom leave the city limits.

[Larry Mangum]

Communications training is being updated. ICUT was just the beginning. next year, we hope to be teaching, what I understand will be basically, a Comm Managers course at NESA.

[Woodsy]

FLWG has several camper type trailers used for comms and command trailers.  They have radio racks with several VHF, aviation, HF, CAP, and all sorts of other stuff. Satellite voice and date capabilities.  Self powered via generator when a hook up is not available.  Nice office and work areas.  Fridge to keep stuff in, AC to keep you cool.  They do not have sleeping quarters.   Nothing self propelled.  We also have access to a couple owned by various local governments, but I'm sure in a large-scale response, they'd be using it themselves.