Well, the word finally filtered down to this forgotten outpost on Lake Huron. All pilots and coxswains must take ICS 210 by 31MAR2009 for be placed in REYR status. I'm sure you all know about this. Here's the part that gets me: The class will not be offered locally. The only opportunity to attend is the Fall Conference, which I don't plan to attend. I'm wondering how the DHS/CG can mandate a class, then not offer it locally.

Robert Carr
AuxOp Sta Alpena

Do you get any word on whether or not they are going to charge you to attend the conference if you are only 'attending' to take the ICS course?

Aux training is supposed to be free and they shouldn't be charging you to attend the conference if all you want to do is take the ICS course.

FWIW - 9CR has only 2 members who have taken ICS210. But possibly lucky for you, they are both in your flotilla. The members are "Barry B." and "Tony V." Check and see if they can teach it to your flotilla. I suspect they cannot unless they have completed train-the-trainer training.

Check with you State Department of Emergency Management and see if they will be offering ICS 300 in your local area. ICS300 will substitute for the more abbreviated ICS210.

Yes, Barry and Tony are in our flotilla. I'll ask if they can teach the class. Of our 2 other coxswains, one is the DCP and will probably get the class at the conference. The other probably will go REYR. I am a coxswain trainee, who will probably suspend training until this issue is resolved.

Robert Carr
AuxOp Sta Alpena

300 is very, very widely available, though in high demand since every fire and police department out there is trying to run their people through it. I bet there will probably be one of those within driving distance of every flotilla in the US sometime in the next 6 months. Just register early to make sure you can get in.

quote:

Just register early to make sure you can get in.

At least in Florida, registering early does not guarantee you anything. Employees of state, county and local EMAs get first crack at the slots - regardless of when they register. Then police, fire etc.

If there are any slots left then maybe a member of the general public (which is how an Auxie is viewed) will be allowed in.

Betting on getting into a state ICS300 course to meet the ICS210 requirement is taking a long shot. I find it amazing that Auxies have to even resort to such a step for a mandated CG/DHS requirement.

Or maybe the CG is using the requirment as a way to 'cull the herd' by restricting access, without having to admit that is what it is doing.

I signed up for both ICS 300 & ICS 400 taught back to back through the Florida Department of Emergency Management -- and was admitted to the roster almost immediately (within a day). Two Auxies were in the courses, and we were openly accepted by staff and fellow students.

River is correct -- signing up early gives you a better chance of getting a seat. A CAP member was in my class, so they were easily accepted as well. Others included the DEP, Hospital representatives, DHS, FDLE, and obligatory Fire, EMS, and LEO attendees...

Someone correct me if Im wrong, but isnt the ICS-300 a week-long course? If so, then the 300 option is not practical for many auxiliary members (unless retired and have the time.) How many would even want to devote a week to studying all that extra material?

You can do ICS-300 in two long days so it's practical to do on a weekend. The problem is finding the instructors who are certified to teach it as well as the funding for it (materials/etc).

Yes, two day course. Remember, that a lot of volunteer fire department types need this course, so weekend options should be available, though maybe not right in your town.

I have also heard that the requirements to teach 210 are going to be almost impossible to meet by most Auxies even those dedicated instructor types who eat this stuff up.

quote:

Originally posted by RiverAux:
I have also heard that the requirements to teach 210 are going to be almost impossible to meet by most Auxies even those dedicated instructor types who eat this stuff up.

From what I hear most of the AD/RES have not taken this yet and it's mandatory for all of them by Spring 2008 or 2009.
Also heard some rumblings that the AUX requirements may get pushed out a couple of years perhaps in part due to the state of this.

quote:

Originally posted by 0130303:

quote:

Originally posted by RiverAux:
I have also heard that the requirements to teach 210 are going to be almost impossible to meet by most Auxies even those dedicated instructor types who eat this stuff up.

From what I hear most of the AD/RES have not taken this yet and it's mandatory for all of them by Spring 2008 or 2009.
Also heard some rumblings that the AUX requirements may get pushed out a couple of years perhaps in part due to the state of this.

That would be in accordance with Aux standard operating procedure. Announce a "drop-dead" date than roll it back 2 or 3 years

errr...then roll it back

Here's your chance folks...

At the D8CR Fall Conference in Dallas, TX -- the ICS 210 course will be offered to attendees on Saturday, September 20th from 1300-1700. The course is listed as being taught by a Coast Guard Trainer.

If you are anywhere close to Dallas or plan to attend the conference, you have a course being made available to you.

Maybe other Districts will offer similar training opportunities at their conferences...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: flyandscuba,

At the D8CR Fall Conference in Dallas, TX -- the ICS 210 course will be offered to attendees

The Option B of Aux standard operating procedure. Announce a requirement, have no training available on the local level so annonce it for a "mass cluster ****" at a district conference that the Bilge Mice do not attend.

Then at the DCon, take attendance at the door. Make no attempt to prove that those who sign the paper actually stay for the presentation. Of those who do, there will be too many to have any kind of interaction. Then update AuxInfo with the unverified sign-in sheeet.

Pat yourself on the back and collect an award for getting the check box, checked off for some higher up.

Meanwhile, no one learned a darn thing - especially since a lot of them never even stayed for the presentation.

And the Bilge Mice are still SOOL since they don't attend DCONs or NACONs

FL,

Interesting the negative spin you always seem to put on things...

In the case of the D8CR Fall Conference, all members are welcome to attend. Actually, DIRAUX is offering new members who have joined since October 2007 a $200 stipend to attend the conference.

Additionally, agenda sessions entitled "New Member Training" from 0830-1050 and "New Member Training II" from 1300-1500 on Saturday, September 20th are offered -- for new members, not leadership. Two TCT training sessions as well as two VE training sessions are also part of the general agenda.

If "bilge mice" as you love to call yourself choose not to attend the conference, it is what it is -- a choice.

Maybe things were done differently in D7 back when you were still a member of the Auxiliary -- but in D8CR all are encouraged to attend (even financially assisted in this case for new members), and the agenda includes relevant topics to all of the membership -- including the offering of ICS 210.

The same set-up and assistance to new members was offered at our Winter Conference too. I saw many "regular" (non-office holding members) present at the conference as well as the "formal" banquet. All were welcome, seemed to enjoy themselves, and the feedback from the new member training opportunities was extremely positive.

Try to think more positively -- that bitterness that you hold for the Auxiliary is going to negatively impact your health...

Sure, its a good start to offer it a conference, but it isn't going to get to but a small fraction of the people who need it. If a course can't be taught down at the flotilla level (at least in theory), then it shouldn't be a requirement for job duties carried out at that level.

Bear in mind that I'm not saying that the course is a bad idea, but my sources (very good ones for this issue) are telling me that there is absolutely no plan for getting it out to the majority of the members who need it in my District.

At 4 bucks a gallon, how close do you have to live to Dallas to make a training day feasable??

I've never seen a conference where all members aren't welcome but it can get expensive. 8ER extends from Paducah, KY to Pittsburgh, PA. $200 would just cover the gas round trip if you get good mileage.

Try to think more positively -- that bitterness that you hold for the Auxiliary is going to negatively impact your health...

My health is fine but thatnks for the concern. As a matter of fact (I'm not really sure there is a connection here) but my cholesterol level dropped a whooping 42 points since I left the Aux. I am safely inside the 'low' level. I also managed to quit smoking after 40 odd years - adding much to the happiness of SWMBO. That I do directly attribute to getting out of the Aux.

Besides some would say the venting of the so-called negitives here (including me) would be a sign of catharsis and lead to improved health by letting it out of the system inside of letting it build up inside - which could lead to increased stress, heart attacks etc. You see it all depends on which 'authority' you consult.

I was also 'negitive' for the last several years when I was in the Aux - so my alleged negitivity isn't a result of my leaving. There are many who suspect you have cause and effect reversed. But I think I'll skip the nitty gritty.

If "bilge mice" as you love to call yourself choose not to attend the conference, it is what it is -- a choice.

It is a false choice and the Grandees and Poobahs know it. Bilge Mice, by and large, do not attend DCONs or NACONs. The ones that do attend tend to be those that live in the immediate vicinity. I happen to know that a few NACONs ago (it was held in Orlando) D7, the host district, had to import volunteers (unpaid labor) from the rest of the district since the local flotillas were sick and tired of NACON in Orlando and stopped volunteering to support it or attend. I was at that NACON since I was a presenter and the Saturday General Meeting was empty. The first row and the last row of the membership area had some seats filled (at least 20 seats in a row) and the 2 dozen or more rows between them were empty or nearly empty.

So instead of making sure the training is available on a local level (RiverAux and I actually agree on something), the Grandees present this false choice of attending the DCon - which they know most members will not attend. Then they can blame the member for not getting trained - when in fact the training was not made available to the members at the members convenience.

Did the Grandees and Poobahs forget who is paying the bills for this organization? Did they forget that it is supposed to be a member driven organization? Did they forget the members are volunteers and can (and will) walk with their feet, as they have shown great willigness to do over the last several years?

I guess saving the funds for the all important Grandee junketing is more important then sending the trainers into the field to get the training done.

For any district that claims they cannot afford to send trainers into the field, find out if they are going to compete in NSAR and how much money the district (and National) plans on spending on flotilla thru national competitons for a competition that benefits only a tiny fraciton of the surface force. Find out how much money the district spends to support sending the Grandees to NACON, DCON and several other National meetings every year. Also find out if your last DCO and your current DCO plan a grand Farewell Tour of the the district at the end of their tour. At least one recent DCO of D7 took himself, his wife and 6 other couples on a Grand Farewell tour of Puerto Rico - although he barred the RCO of the area from going there because of expense for 2 years.

Also find out how much money your district has in the bank (including CDs and such) if they are crying poverty. Here is a possible eye openere. D7 has over $600,000 in the bank (mostly CDs and such) and that number is over 2 years old. Yet D7 cries poverty all the time and will not send trainers into the field.

This is a mandatory requirement and it is one of the valid reasons to tap those rainy day funds (if the Grandess will not cut back on the junketing to get'er done).

$200 would just cover the gas round trip if you get good mileage.

I just thought of this. They are going to spend $200 a member!!! How wasteful is that. 8CR, the district in question, has 27 pilots, 209 coxswains and 11 Harbor Safety Specialists (the stand-in for Trident required members). The total required to take ICS210 in 8CR is 247 members. We know that number is probably low. However multiplying it out by $200 a member gives an expenditure of $49,400.

Who really thinks it is cheaper to spend that kind of money rather then send one or two trainers out into the field to get'er done!

There is only one way it is cheaper - the DirAux and everyone else knows that the members aren't going to take them up on this false choice and therefore the money will not have to be spent at all. Then they can blame the members and here is the best part - they REYR the coxswains, pilots and others.

Which produces added savings via less patrols which means less gas expenditures, less claims for property damage and less worker's comp claims. Regarding the latter, I'll see if I can track it down again, I recently found a report on the web that gave the CG's expense for WC claims for the Aux.

Remember the old adage - if you don't understand something, follow the money.