CERT Training for Radio Operators - Some Potential Roadblocks

[N7YLA]

November 12, 2010

"CERT Training for Radio Operators - Will Church Member CERT Teams Be Road Blocked in a Worst Case Scenario Emergency?"

As a leader of a Church group of amateur radio operators in Glendora, CA I have been encouraging our hams to take Citizen’s Emergency Response Team (CERT) training so they can be better prepared to help in emergencies in the community.  Since CERT team members are given authorization badges to enable them to cross police barricades we felt that our radio operators should all have CERT training. We have recently learned that our local police agency CERT training provider  now requires additional "Citizen Academy" training and family background checks in order to receive this level of authorization, and that the police will deploy the CERT team members according to their own needs. 

This would seem to preclude any ward Bishopric from sending  Church-organized  CERT teams to check on ward members directly unless some agreement could be made with the local law enforcement agencies to authorize our teams passage through police barriers, etc.   

Furthermore  the Glendora Stake covers four communities (Glendora, Azusa, Covina, and parts of San Dimas) so  the rendering of assistance beyond one's own community may be limited if CERT authorization is city-specific only.  Am I off base in sensing a paradigm shift in the purpose of CERT? 

Your thoughts, experiences,  and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mark Hayden, N7YLA

[wb7sgl]

Your Stake Preparedness Committee could be working on forging a statement of understanding with each of the four cities. But, such a statement of understanding goes both ways, if the cities want people to have CERT and citizen academy, you would simply have to have both to qualify.

In order to forge a statement of understanding, there would have to be serious commitment to the effort. We are a volunteer based Church and you honestly cannot expect professional levels of dedication from volunteers as their commitment tends to wax and wane as their needs and schedules allow.

I know from others who were employed in the field that there are even issues between agencies that are causing havoc. An example is ICS training for one agency not being recognized by others, people who participate in ICS have to be trained on the same materials by multiple agencies which is just stupid.

In short, yes, the paradigms are shifting. I am seeing the same feelings being voiced by people who support RACES and ARES.

Despite our qualifications, education, etc. they want control in disasters. I don't mean to be the voice of paranoia but I feel the public service agencies also want to limit the 'news' reports that can be transmitted from disaster areas, as ridiculous as that sounds.

For me, it's a personal drive that keeps me working on communications and preparedness. If anything bad happens where I am, I want to be able to count on myself first (and completely) because I know how bad the public service response will be. (Look at the Katrina response for an example of the best to expect.)

73 with the most sincere desire for the best possible of everything!

WB7SGL - Rob

[KI6DKC]

I know that some of us that are communicators for our stake have resisted getting too heavilly involved in some of these government controlled emcom groups mainly because our duty first and foremost is to be communicators for the bishops and stake president. 

There is some worry that becoming CERT trained or getting heavilly into ARES/RACES might then take us away from that primary committment we have especially in light of stories of governments becoming more heavy handed with ham radio volunteers.  It's great to want to be of service to the community in an emergency but if that committment interfers or distracts us from our primary duties to the wards and stake then we won't be much use to our bishops and it kind of defeats the reason to have stake and ward emcom plans.  In an emergency in our stake it may be difficult to get the operators we need for the church already and even more difficult is some folks are grabbed by government to work for them.  It is also one of the reasons that I didn't sign up with the Salvation Army when they came to the local ham radio club looking to get emergency operators.

I can understand the desire to get credentials to get across barriers for travel but maybe there are other ways to do it.  I personally have some credentials from our County Sheriff's Community Oriented Policing Program (COP) that might help accomplish that but the fact is that as soon as I use them I'm basically telling the authorities on scene that I'm there to work for them which may take me away from my stake communication duties. 

So I guess you have to decide if having those credentials is worth surrendering your "freedom" to act for your ward and stake in an emergency.  I think every person's situation is different based on their location, the types of dissasters most likely to occur, the needs of their ward/stake, etc. 

I think some government entities see ham radio operators as a nuisance and use hurdles to weed out all but the most dedicated to helping them in a dissaster.  Some simply don't want our help at all for a variety of reasons including the lack of control they would have over ham radio operators who are not government employees.