QRZ! Ham Radio 6/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 6.iso/pc/files/races/opstrain.txt

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 19.7 KB | 366 lines

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   OPSTrain   Version 1. 3     3/1/92



Subject: TRAINING [Category: OPS]

TRAINING FOR LEVEL A VOLUNTEERS
QUESTION: For "Level A" RACES persons, what training should local
government, give them?
ANSWER: This varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. One thing
the RACES is not is to train operators from scratch. We assume
that person brings to the job one or more skills. The government
should train and provide handouts on that which the volunteer
would not normally get. For starters we recommend the following:
1. An agency organization chart.
2. Position descriptions, starting with the Radio Officer.
3. The mission of the emergency communications service, including
the RACES.
4. The Incident Command System. If the ICS is used, the volunteer
communicators in government service must understand it.
5. Concentrate of the use of tactical callsigns and plain
English.
6. Mission specific training. In other words, those people
support a hazard materials incident in the field must have
suitable hazmat training before hand. The same applies to wild
fire communications, flood gauge reporting, and similar
potentially hazardous operations.
7. Housekeeping rules and standard operating procedures.
8. Safety, personal and family preparedness. RB 162

OPERATIONS CRITIQUE FOR TRAINING PURPOSES
A recent incident utilized about 40 Amateur Radio operators for
over a week. Observations were collected from staff and
participants following the incident. Both served agency managers
and their volunteers may benefit from the findings in your future
training, meetings, and in the preparation of standard operating
procedures.
1. Proper clothing is necessary for an extended stay. This means
appropriate attire for both day and night. Since this was a
wildfire incident, this means boots or heavy duty work shoes. Not
sneakers and never thongs.
2. Use tactical calls. This is still the hardest thing for
Amateurs unfamiliar with tactical emergency communications. It
must be stressed in training and Standard Operating Procedures so
that it will be natural in an incident or even scheduled nets and
rollcalls. Short place names are usually used to identify
locations. Functional names may be used for individual positions.
Note again that it is the position that is important and not so
much the individual holding down that position at any given time.
If a callsign is not known, don't hesitate to call anyone on any
radio by their given name. An individual's regular callsign is
really unimportant during an incident and that includes
Amateur's, too. When one location calls another location it is to
establish two way radio communications by using tactical
callsigns readily understood by anyone for the duration of the
incident or net. Again, that net might last 30 minutes or 30
days. The FCC Rules for the Amateur Radio Service state that an
Amateur Radio STATION shall be identified with its ham call at
least once in every ten minutes of transmission. We have seen an
awful lot of time wasted in real operations and exercises when a
ham, wanting to talk to ANYONE at a given location wastes a lot
of air time by repeatedly calling an individual's ham callsign
instead of the proper tactical callsign. Ham radio operators will
come and go but the tactical callsign will remain unchanged. The
tactical callsigns are all important, the individual ham
callsigns are not. We are told that this wounds a few egos but
that is simply the way Incident Command System communications are
conducted. Our hams bring their expertise, equipment, and
willingness to serve the served agency in the manner the served
agency wants and should leave their egos home.
3. Closely coupled with the comments in part 2 above is the fact
some volunteers report for duty with little or no prior training
in the what and why they are there. Sometimes volunteers pick up
all the necessary training in the several days of real duty and
they really shine. There are a few, however, who challenge the
very mission of the Amateur Radio operators to be there in the
first place. Those few, for example, have questioned why they
support the fire information officer's role on a wildfire
incident. To ask such a question, of course, is indicative of no
prior training being received by that person. This bulletin will
not attempt to define that role but it will be addressed in
future bulletins for information purposes only -- not an attempt
to replace the classroom training that is required of any
volunteer serving in the RACES and the Department of Forestry's
programs. Once a volunteer understands his or her expected role
-- up front and ahead of time -- they can decide whether to roll
with the team or head for the door. As program managers it is our
role to provide sufficient briefings and training so that any
volunteer can determine before an incident whether or not
tactical government service communications is their cup of tea.
Out on the line is too late.
4. Determine in advance who can read maps and who cannot. Some
people simply cannot. This is no disgrace. One who cannot read
maps, however, should not be sent into a strange area alone.
These critique comments were collected by Stan Harter KH6GBX, Les
Ballinger WA6EQQ, and Charlie Jakobs KC6LKC. RB142 & 143

VOLUNTEERS RESPONDING POLICY
ATTENTION: RACES PROGRAM MANAGERS AND TRAINING OFFICERS
For every public safety function or problem there is a government
agency charged with the primary response, control and mitigation.
Some agencies use volunteers on a regular basis and others do
not. Such regular or professional volunteers are generally
expected to meet certain qualifications prior to acceptance and
enrollment. We know of no public safety function in California
provided solely by volunteers. Skilled volunteers, properly
trained and registered, are a part of and support a specific
public agency. Public agencies do not take kindly to unrequested
volunteers showing up at an emergency. By the same token,
properly registered volunteers do not self-dispatch themselves;
they respond by authorization from competent authority. One of
the prerequisites in California for a volunteer to serve a public
agency is to first become a registered Disaster Service Worker in
accordance with State Government Code 8580 et al. See your local
OES Coordinator for further information if you are interested.
RB87-40

DRILL OR EXERCISE REALITY
[The following was written by April Moell, WA6OPS, long
experienced in medical and disaster emergencies. She gives you,
both government and volunteers alike, advice from the perspective
of the served agency. I have paraphrased her original memo to
hospital disaster responders to apply to communications
responders in virtually any incident. S. E. Harter, KH6GBX]
DRILL OR EXERCISE REALITY
1. It will never be what you expect.
2. Go prepared for anything. You never know where you might be
operating, or for how long, or under what circumstances. You
could be at the command post in a basement or in the field. Your
fellow ham may drop his or her handie-talkie coming into the
building.
3. Introduce yourself to the person in charge of your area. Don't
be afraid to ask who is in charge if you aren't sure. You need to
quickly brief that person as to your capabilities. Let them know
to where you can provide them radio links. Do not assume that
they know what you can do.
4. Just like we have many hams each year that are new to the
drills or are in a different hospital (or EOC) than before, the
hospital (or EOC) are usually in the same situation. They may
have brought in staff from other shifts or locations to learn
about the disaster plan. New administration staff may be getting
their feet wet for the first time as the person in charge of the
command post. In many cases it may be the first time they have
seen a ham in their incident command post -- at best, in some
exercise a year or so ago. In other words, DON'T ASSUME THEY WILL
THINK YOU ARE WONDERFUL AND IMMEDIATELY KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOU.
5. We may have no control over the starting or ending time of the
drills. We will give you our best approximations. Sometimes there
are problems setting up the disaster scene and the drill starts
late. That means the hams will get called late. If you've been
pre-staged we will try to keep you advised over the air..
Sometimes there are difficulties retrieving all the victims or
resources after the drill. You may be asked to stay at your post
past the end of the drill. If this causes you a problem, let your
supervisor know ahead of time. If there are staggered callouts or
activations of radio volunteers, please DON'T GET ON THE AIR AND
ASK when you are going to be called. Be patient.
6. If you said you can be available for a drill date, WE ARE
PLANNING ON USING YOU. PLEASE TAKE THE COMMITMENT SERIOUSLY. It
takes a lot of time and phone bills to contact people, assign
them, and contact them again with their assignments. Thinking we
won't miss just one volunteer is erroneous. If several people
think that we will be in trouble, and it isn't just a matter of
plugging someone in. One dropout can create a domino effect,
causing shuffling of operators to provide the proper coverage and
support new ones in the drill. That means more phone calls and
chaos.
7. Hospital (and government) people aren't fond of drills. They
disrupt their normal routine. They are required to do them. They
don't want to be embarrassed by doing something wrong. When the
drill is over, you will likely see a very rapid disappearance of
personnel. If victims are yet to be picked up for transport back
to the site and you are a possible communications link for that,
don't let the command post close up without knowing who your
contact is going to be. The hospital is supposed to have someone
in charge of the victims. Don't let them abandon you. It is not
your job to keep track of the victims.
8. You are not likely to handle much traffic. In a drill most
people rarely simulate the kind of phone stress they would have
in a real incident. Whether you are in a drill or the real thing,
you are a support communications system. YOU ARE THERE JUST IN
CASE. QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY, IS WHAT MATTERS. If you are on duty
for three hours and handle only one message -- it was still
important and worthwhile for you to be there. If you can get the
one message through that they need -- YOU ARE VALUABLE.
9. The more exposure volunteers have to the agency they serve,
the easier it is for all concerned when we are activated.
The preceding was prepared by April Moell for the Hospital
Disaster Support Communications System in Southern California.
Throughout you can see the importance of the necessity for
reliability, dependability, performance, and knowledge of the
served agency by its volunteers. There are some volunteer
activities that require little or no prior knowledge of the
served agency by a volunteer. This is NEVER the type of volunteer
we address in the weekly State RACES Bulletins and other
publications. Like the hams and other volunteers who serve the
hospitals, they must be a part of the served agency system BEFORE
the emergency strikes. Such a volunteer seeks out an agency or
organization ahead of time. They then serve because they WANT TO
as a part of an agency, an organization, or a system as a team
player. There simply is no room for loners. The days of simply
sitting down to any radio, anywhere, with no knowledge of the
served agency are gone. New people learn the system and the
procedures. So do the old timers or they lapse into retirement.
Probably one of the most frustrating statements from a soul who
stands up at a recruiting session for emergency communi-cations
specialists is, "I've been a ham for over forty years. What in
the world can YOU possibly teach ME?"
Again, thanks to April and the other professionals who send us
Bulletin material. As retired Hawaii State RACES Radio Officer
Henry Gamache, KH6AIN, once said, "Just because you're an Amateur
doesn't mean you don't do a professional job." RB188-190

WHAT IS A "SHADOW"? -
Question: What is a Shadow?
Answer: A shadow is an Amateur Radio operator who accompanies an
official during an incident. The following is from the Nevada-
Yuba-Placer Ranger Unit of the California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection, sometimes abbreviated simply as the CDF
CONCEPT:
(1) The purpose of the shadow is to allow constant contact with
some person who is important to the fire operation. Thus the ham
operator MUST remain in the immediate vicinity of the person
shadowed AT ALL TIMES.
(2) Because the person being shadowed will usually be involved in
some important activity, the shadow should be unobtrusive in the
vicinity of the person, interjecting only communications is
needed.
RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:
(1) Communications
(a) The shadow operator must remain with the person being
shadowed at all times. In addition, the ham must monitor the
radio AT ALL TIMES.
(b) Operator is expected to take direction from the site
supervisor during his shift.
(c) The shadow may operate other radios as well, such as the
departmental radio and cellular telephone.
(2) Shift Durations. Most CDF operations have shift durations of
12 hours at a time. This time may vary depending on the actual
needs of the operation.
(3) The operator shall be in good physical condition. The ham
operator must be able to walk and sometimes run long distances
with the official.
EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS:
The shadow shall furnish the following equipment when reporting
for duty:
(1) Hand-held, 2 meter, 5 watt output, synthesized transceiver
with programmable CTCSS encoder. (Note: Cross band, dual band, 2
meter-440 radio recommended and will be required in the future.)
(2) Mobile 2 meter radio for easy installation in a vehicle,
including mag-mount antenna. Alternative: mobile booster
amplifier. An external with a long cord is also required. (See 2
meter-440 note above also applies).
(3) Earpiece or headphones for HT, or speaker-mike.
(4) Spare batteries for 24 hours operation.
(5) Power adapter connectors -- both cigarette lighter and
clip-lead for direct battery connection with cables at least 10
feet long. Recommended: Anderson Power-Pole connectors.
(6) 5/8-wave mag-mount antenna with 15 feet coaxial cable AND
extendible pull-up antenna for the HT, as well as the regular HT
rubber duck antenna. RB179-180

DESIRABLE TRAITS IN A VOLUNTEER
"What are the desirable traits for a Level 1 volunteer?" A
management workshop, based on Harvard business school techniques,
divided 110 people into eleven groups of ten people each. The
groups were asked to list all of the attributes that came to
mind. After a period of time they were told to stop writing lists
and vote on their top eight. Then all eleven groups combined
their results into the following top eight attributes:
1. Reliability.
2. Participation.
3. Being a team player.
4. Dedication and commitment.
5. Ability to cooperate.
6. Acceptance of responsibility.
7. Support; speaks well of his/her organization before others.
8. A success in his/her vocation.      RB 098

STRESS AND TRAINING  ORIGINAL CAPTION:"FALLING OVERBOARD"
by Lois Clark McCoy, WB6MME
My awareness of emergencies and disaster began at a very early
age. I was born and brought up on an ocean-going 42 foot yawl and
never lived ashore until I was eight years old. During those
years my father taught my sister and me about emergencies and how
to avoid disaster. Emergencies at sea were expected and prepared
for. Disaster was to be avoided at all costs. As he said, "You
only get to fall overboard once."

What's the difference between emergency and disaster?
An emergency is when the resources available are inadequate to
contain and recover from an event, but, in time of disaster, the
American citizen volunteers to fill that shortfall in resources.
The American tradition of volunteerism is one of a community's
greatest strengths; the Amateur Radio family has a long history
of disaster and emergency service.
However, in the aftermath of a recent urban wildfire where the
emergency response phase of the operation spanned only three
hours, we found ourselves short of trained emergency responders.

You notice that I said trained emergency responders. The wildfire
was terrible, scary, and burned more people out of their homes
than any other fire in the United States except the 1906 San
Francisco fire. But it was only one canyon. It was only one day.
Essentially, the emergency response was over in three hours. The
mop-up took days and recovery is still going on. But as a
disaster it was a short-lived event. Even so, we were running out
of trained emergency communicators.
As Amateur Radio operators who think yourselves capable
communicators, many of you will volunteer when disaster strikes.
I must tell you that in my experience you will be disappointed in
your performance unless you train as an emergency radio operator.

Without that needed disaster and team training you will not
perform up to your expectations. The reason for your
disappointment will be a physical one, one that training can
minimize. It is that unexpected physical reaction to stress and
sudden disaster that all experience -- astronauts as well as
Amateur Radio operators. Astronauts train and train in order to
make the time between the shock of the unexpected and the later
recovery to trained action as short as possible. Firemen,
policemen, and paramedics are so highly trained that after
they've been years in their services they forget what their early
days were like. They have shortened that gap between the
unexpected incident and the trained reaction to become almost
unnoticeable. One of the reasons for volunteers needing to
shorten this momentary gap between shock and reasoned or trained
reaction is that the body recovers ahead of the mind. Therefore,
the body will react in senseless ways immediately after, unless
the mind is trained to reason instantaneous control and to order
the body to take trained action.

I want a lot of you to sign up, to serve in a great or small
capacity, and to get all the training you can because, until you
take this training, you won't understand how different the task
is. It is much different, running a communications post, under
stress, worried about your family, worried about your home or
your neighbor's, worried about your own safety. Responding to
emergencies is not what you normally do on a day-to-day routine.
You do not normally put yourself in harm's way. This response
will have a different feel, and until you can learn to focus, to
concentrate all your energies on the emergency matter at hand,
you will continue to be disappointed in your own performance
under stress.

To successfully perform under stress takes training and spirit. I
know you have spirit. You need training, and training is not
something to be done once and forgotten. You need to train and
keep training to concentrate and focus all your abilities on an
emergency at hand.
 In the last analysis, coping with unexpected disaster does not
so much test a community's advance state of preparedness as it
does its reflexes -- those actions undertaken as a result of its
training and readiness. This is the most persuasive argument for
preplanning and training. So, rather than "falling overboard,"
let's dive in together, take the training, and be prepared for
the unexpected. ---WB6MME ----
About the author: Lois Clark McCoy is a nationally recognized
veteran emergency services/civil defense professional and search
and rescue expert. She is in Santa Barbara, California. ---Stan
Harter, KH6GBX. RB 169 to 173.