So what do you guys do for 'ES Night' at your squadrons? Our new ES officer is looking for topics etc....
Direct, hands-on training (I show you), or tasking (you show me) of what ever people need or want to learn.
Pick a subject in the taskbook that does not require a logistical nightmare to supply or get moving
We try to zero in on the basics of map reading, shooting azimuths, reading sectionals, etc
"Stuff" that you can to with minimal set up
Even go over, at times, what the new 60-3 covers
ES nights are really what ever you can do in the 2 to 2.5 hour period
Some of it can be even....hold on CAPers with little or no map and compass skillllzzzz.......FUN!
UDF is a great place to start. Everyone in CAP, especially aircrews, should be UDF qualified.
The nice thing about UDF is that it requires little special gear, and with two tasks you are mission ready.
It opens the discussion on the GES, OPSEC, and ICS topics, all of which can be done online outside a meeting, and when complete, the qual touches on many specific tasks, and many general aspects of CAP ES operations.
There's also no such thing as "I did that already..." as we all need to do recurrency training on the tasks during our three years, and many Wings allow for the SET doing the sign off to get their own recurrency credit along with the trainee.
Working everyone through the ICS requirements is a good evening-filler as well.
This past year we've done:
JANUARY: Cold Weather Survival/Injuries
FEBRUARY: Practice Beacon Search on the base
MARCH: Map reading and Compass Part I
APRIL: Map reading and Compass Part II
MAY: GTM-3 Prerequisites Part I
JUNE: GTM-3 Prerequisites Part II
JULY: Practice Beacon Search on the base
AUGUST: B-CUT
SEPTEMBER: Tabletop Mission w/ Mobile Command Post and Ground Team (Ok, not so table top, but the planes didn't actually fly, but the GT went out...)
OCTOBER: CPR/AED & First Aid