All hams are encouraged to sign up and attend this training if you are interested in helping out when there is a disaster or some kind of need for emergency communications. There are requirements to attend. You must take the FEMA courses listed below, I placed a link at the bottom to the first course, you can navigate to the other courses from there. Stan will have a signup sheet on the event signup page. These are an intense two days, 10 hours a day Saturday and Sunday.
FEMA Course training
TRG-AUXCOMM: Auxiliary Communications Workshop Description
This class is designed for those auxiliary emergency communicators and groups who volunteer to provide backup emergency radio communications support to public safety agencies. Typically, this includes amateur radio and Radio Emergency Associated Communications Team (REACT) communicators, but may include other volunteer emergency communicators. Volunteer emergency communications operators/groups, using amateur radio, have been providing backup communications to public safety for nearly 100 years. Event planners, public safety officials, and emergency managers at all levels of government utilize their services. Often, amateur radio services have been used when other forms of communications have failed or have been disrupted. Today, nearly all the states/territories have incorporated some level of participation by amateur radio auxiliary communication operators into their TICPs and SCIPs.
This course focuses on auxiliary communications interoperability, the relationship between the COML and the volunteer, emergency operations center (EOC) etiquette, on-the-air etiquette, FCC rules and regulations, auxiliary communications training and planning, and emergency communications deployment. It is intended to supplement and standardize an operator’s experience and knowledge of emergency amateur radio communications in a public safety context.
Prerequisites for attendance are:
Completion of IS-100.b, IS-200.b, IS-700.a, and IS-800.b prior to the workshop1
An active FCC amateur radio license
Past experience in auxiliary emergency communications
A desire to work with COMLs in a NIMS/ICS environment
The SWIC will need to review/validate copies of the attendees’ documentation of prerequisites prior to the course date. At least seven days prior to the course start date, the SWIC (or their designated representative) will submit an email to OEC/ICTAP verifying the students have met the prerequisites and are eligible to participate in the course.
1 For any OEC/ICTAP COMU training course (COML, COMT, AUXCOMM) requestors are encouraged to notify the State Training Officer (STO) prior to its start to ensure the course is documented in state training files.
2 It is a 20 hour, two day course with facilitated lectures and student exercises. It can be scheduled during normal business days or weekends to accommodate participants’ schedules. This course builds in time for interactive discussions and activities. Because the content is NIMS-compliant, this offering is not modified for local circumstances. It is limited to 30 students.
The course content includes:
Introduction
The Communications Unit and the EOC
Auxiliary Emergency Communicator (AEC) Roles and Responsibilities
Interoperable Communications
Incident Communication
Incident Radio Communications Plan (ICS Form 205)
Incident Communications Center
Team Management and Accountability
Resources
Intrastate and Interstate Radio Networks
Final Exercise Exam Deliverables
Student Workbook
Informational CD Auxiliary communications workshops provide emergency amateur radio volunteers an overview of the NIMS ICS structure and a greater understanding of how they can support COMLs.
