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- Bid : $RACESBUL.280
-
-
- TO: ALL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES VIA AMATEUR RADIO
- INFO: ALL RACES OPERATORS IN CA (ALLCA: OFFICIAL)
- ALL AMATEURS U.S. (@ USA: INFORMATION)
- FROM: CA STATE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES (W6HIR @ WA6NWE.CA)
- 2800 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA 95832
- (916)262-1600
- Landline BBS open to all: (916) 262-1657
- RACESBUL.280 DATE: June 28, 1993
- SUBJECT: OPS- Are YOU trained or untrained?
-
- People sometimes get "fed up" with the idea of training.
- "Who needs it", is the phrase I hear from time to time from those
- outside of RACES. Well, we all benefit from it, but perhaps we
- need to paint a clearer picture of why, and its benefits.
- In a comment by David Fowler regarding Fire Service
- response, the following appeared:
- "I always want to know how a system is going to work under
- operator stress. My experience shows me that people work best
- under stress with those things they are most familiar with, and
- will reject new procedures, systems, etc., that are introduced
- during a stress period. Training is one way of making the
- unfamiliar familiar."
- Let's repeat his last statement: Training is one way of
- making the unfamiliar familiar!
- It reminds me of an incident message a few year back that
- involved a person whose name was long and difficult to spell.
- Let's say it was "Jwailicowski" for illustration and no offense
- intended. Mr. J, lets call him, was an agency official, but
- a responding volunteer didn't know him nor had he heard the name
- before because he never really participated and attended
- training. During an emergency a two minute message came in. This
- particular volunteer spent four minutes getting the phonetic
- spelling on the one word name when he should have taken ten
- seconds. Had he belonged to the organization and attended its
- training --- which included familiarity with personnel --- he
- would have been familiar with Mr. J's name and could have simply
- written it out correctly after only hearing the name once.
- Instead, because of his lack of participation and training, he
- tied up the net for an excruciating four minutes that drove
- others to distraction.
- Small potatoes? Well, maybe, but small potatoes grow into
- big plants that send out runners and shoots into many areas. So
- it is with lack of familiarization (training) of people,
- procedures and systems. Attend ANY opportunity for
- familiarization and orientation; you will never know what you
- missed if you don't attend!!
-
- /signed/ Cary Mangum, W6WWW, State Chief Radio Officer
- Remember: Out of sight is out of mind.
- EOM
-
-