quote:

Originally posted by ward2up:
Here's the FSO-IS change, noted at the end of this excerpt from one of the 5NR newsletters :

5NR REORGANIZATION

A National reorganization was presented at N Train.

National was tasked by the Commandant to do this reorganization and progress must be reported back to N Train in August 2008.

Changes take effect 01 JAN 09.



DISTRICT LEVEL CHANGES

The Vice Commodore position will be eliminated.

RCO’s will now be District Captains.

There will be two Districts—North and East.

DIVISION LEVEL CHANGES

There will be 11 Divisions (down from the present 15 divisions).

Division 16 will remain as it stands now.

Division Captains will be Division Commanders.

Vice Division Captains will be Vice Division Commanders.

The following Division Staff Offices will stay in place:

SO-IS (Information Systems)

SO-FN (Finance)

SO-OP (Operations)

SO-SR (Secretary)

All other Division Staff Offices are being eliminated.

REPORTING

SO-IS, SO-FN, SO-OP, and SO-SR will report to the Div. Commander.

Div-CR, Div-CP, and Div-CL will report to the Vice Div. Commander.

FLOTILLA LEVEL CHANGES

FSO-IS (Information Systems) will be eliminated.

Members will send their reporting forms directly to the SO-IS.

As the reorganization unfolds, a lot of decisions have to be considered, a new direction developed, and change implemented.

Members will be kept informed as new information becomes available.

quote:

Re: WHAT IS "professionalism"? (case study)
Posted By: Tony Morris, 9CR 17-03
Date: 5/1/2001 12:37

The signs of over-professionalism in my previous message are just that, signs. With one exception they are not causes. At heart, the causes are good intentions. Perhaps the process can become clearer with a (partially) imaginary scenario:

A group of people in a large city banded together to perform freeway patrols (true). The intent was to spend time cruising the freeways looking for motorists in distress and providing assistance. They realized that they would need distinctive markings for their cars, so they made some magnetic signs to stick on the sides of their cars and some yellow lights to put on the roof, got their CB radios, and off they went. Let's say there were 100 of them.

It was not long before it was decided that they should have a common, well-marked vehicle to increase their visibility and also to reduce the (unreimbursed) wear on their personal vehicles. A local dealer donated a van with permanent markings, yellow lights, a brand new new CB radio, and highway flares and reflective triangles to increase safety. The local leadership decided that it would be wise for all volunteers to wear reflective vests with distinctive markings for safety and clear identification. This increased interest in the program and the number of volunteers increased to 150.

After a while, it was decided that their efforts should be coordinated with the local sheriff's department that also patrols the freeways. So the participants were required to attend workshops to ensure effective cooperation; the organizers also were required to meet with the sheriff's staff regularly for liaison purposes. Volunteers were encouraged to purchase and wear uniforms roughly similar to those of the sheriff's auxiliary officers but with distinctive markings. Maintenance costs on the van and the need to prepare training materials required the imposition of dues of $20/year. The increased cost of these initiatives in time and money reduced the pool of volunteers to 110.

Not long thereafter, it was decided that the volunteers should all have basic first-aid training since they were encountering some medical problems among the motorists they were assisting and since motorists expected them to have many of the skills of the sheriff's department that they represented. So all the volunteers were required to have first-aid training and the van was required to be equipped with first-aid equipment. Some volunteers were showing up in sloppy clothes and were a discredit to the program, so uniforms were no longer optional -- they were required. The added cost in time and money reduced the number of volunteers to 90.

It was then decided that the volunteers should keep detailed records of the time spent patrolling the freeways, attending workshops, getting training, etc. They were also required to fill out a detailed report of each encounter with motorists so the sheriff's department could examine statistics on things like times of day when assistance is most needed, locations with unusually high levels of motorist problems, etc. Periodic workshops on the proper filling out of forms were required. The cost of printing the forms and conducting the workshops increased the annual dues to $30. Membership dropped to 80.

When it became clear that the incidents they were encountering often exceeded their training, it was required that all volunteers receive training and remain current in CPR. They were also required to get basic training in firefighting and toxic substances since car fires and incidents involving toxic substances were being encountered. The van was equipped with better fire extinguishers, protective gear, etc. To cover these costs, and the loss of members mentioned previously, dues increased to $40/year. Membership dropped to 60 and the resulting loss of dues put the organization into the red.

After a number of instances of encountering motorists experiencing heart attacks, it was decided that the volunteers should be trained in the use of defibrillators and that the van should be appropriately equipped. Dues increased to $60 a year to cover the costs and the loss of income from the members who had dropped out. The increased costs and time required dropped membership to 40. The organization continued to operate in the red, and began to seek outside financial support.

It was then decided that since other communities were doing much the same thing, a national coalition should be formed so that information could be shared back and forth, statistics could be compiled centrally, and training and equipment requirements could be standardized. The cost of maintaining the national organization (travel, correspondence, printing, etc.) was added to annual dues which increased to $75. Membership in the local unit, which was now just one cog in a big wheel, dropped to 25. Efforts to obtain outside financial support increased dramatically.

Then it was decided to establish national standards for participation in the program. All volunteers were required to become proficient in dealing with hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, forest fires and the like. Dues were increased to $100. Membership dropped to 15.

Not long thereafter, the national organization decided that the volunteers should be trained as first responders since, in fact, that was often what they were and their basic first aid was simply inadequate to meet the needs. Annual dues were increased to $200. The added time and money dropped membership to 5.

The time required for training, meeting, reporting and other internal activities was now accounting for 80% of the time the volunteers had available. Thus they only had 20% of their time left for actually patrolling freeways. But those 5 stalwarts provided absolutely first-class service to the few motorists they encountered in the time they had left over for freeway patrols.

quote:

The various boat crew manuals are starting to show their age.

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Only those who might be involved in emergency response, which few Auxies are, had to be.

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Most boat crew will never use them in their entire career.