We have been working on a training plan for ACS for the past few months and presented the plan (in the form of a training matrix) at our last training meeting at the West Precinct on January 25th.  You can find a copy of the matrix on our website.

This plan is driven by our desire to have well-qualified and skilled people with a common knowledge base on board and to go when needed. 

We have established four training levels in our plan.  Every position in our organization is aligned with one of these training levels.  Here is a brief description of each level:

Level R1- For key leadership positions interfacing with other government and emergency communications organizations.

Level R2- For internal leadership positions.

Level R3- For radio operators in non leadership roles.

Level R4- For ACS support personnel without radio licenses.

There is a lot of work to do to make this plan happen but there are a few things each of us can do now that are necessary for all levels of training.

Attend the CommAcademy April 1 and 2.  We’d like everyone to avail themselves of this excellent opportunity to be exposed to a wide range of topics relevant to ACS.  You can sign up on line at http://www.commacademy.org/

Sign up and take IS-100 Introduction to Incident Command System course on line.  This quick course (2 hrs) is well done and gives an excellent overview of how NIMS works.  You can sign up at http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is100.asp 

Take the ARRL Level 1 EmComm course.  We will offer it again in the fall but it is available online through ARRL.  More information is available at http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html#ec001

Make sure your go-kits are ready to GO.

Enough for now.  Stay tuned to our nets and website for more information on training.

73

Jim Doub

K6TKU