OK, let's yank some kinks out of this really quick.
- If your locals don't like you guys having lights, don't have lights. If they are to be used on private property, keep an LED mini-bar inside somewhere and use it on parking details. If you occasionally run command for a CERT, keep a green throw light inside too, and only place and use it when you are actually operating command. Please note that if your CERT is being used under the Unified Command Structure aspect of NIMS, that you should not hulk up your "command vehicle" and run a separate command. Two separate commands can lead to miscommunications, which can lead to death of your team members, public safety agents, or the general public. This would be considered freelancing and is very dangerous.
- I don't buy all the BS about wreckers and such either. Nothing makes a replica police car builder more a rightful owner of warning lights than a CERT member or a security officer. They are members of the general public too. I have no problem with CERT people getting snagged up for lighting if the police don't like it, just like I would have no problem if a replica PD driver gets snatched up for cutting his red/blues on while driving down the interstate. There is legal, there is local back-turning, and there is illegal.
- Now with all of this being said, CERT is a valuable and important function, and every locality that has CERT available to them would be foolish not to use them. If you want a great CERT, not just a good, or even functioning one, do the following:
All Commanders
NIMS 100/200/700/800
IS 240/241
ESF9
CPR/AED
ARC Advanced First Aid
Hazmat Awareness
Terrorism First Response Awareness
Shelter Operations
Traffic Flagger
CERT Basic
CERT Instructor (train-the-trainer class)
All Members
NIMS 100/700
ESF9
CPR/AED
ARC Advanced First Aid
Hazmat Awareness
Terrorism First Response Awareness
Shelter Operations
Traffic Flagger
CERT Basic
Agency
GMRS/FRS/TriSquare ISM? Sure...for local comms (like a single neighborhood), but for a greater area, not good. Get a pool together for the group to license a channel pair or two, and put up a repeater or two. It works better than simplex comms, and gives far-increased capabilities, with less channel interference, and is far cheaper than LMR rentals.
The recommended loadout for CERT is found in most every CERT handbook. Get familiar with it, and acquire it. If the team is successful enough, the team can purchase a used vehicle and store the equipment, ready to roll. This saves a LOT of time and headache. The one thing I found when doing continuing education for CERTs are that they were woefully underprepared.
The standard, accepted, nationwide uniform of CERT is a safety green traffic vest and a safety green OSHA/ANSI hard hat. Get nice vests for the team members. They cost more, but last longer and look better. On my team, we all agreed to buy our own Bullard Advent helmets in bright green, and properly marked them as EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT wasn't available) reflective side crescents. Make sure the vests are properly printed with your (county, neighborhood, locality) name and CERT in huge reflective letters on the back. This will eliminate any possibility of wannabe or imposter behavior (which, I'm not saying you are, I'm saying CERT attracts tons of those).
Put the suggested training into play. Make it a requirement for your team commanders and members to have that training regimen within a certain timeframe, or they get deactivated. This will weed out the wannabes and imposters, by the way. This is what separates the wheat from the chaff.
Some places use a rank structure, and while many here frown on it, I think a structured chain of command works wonders. It also falls in line with the UCS, and NIMS, which CERT is to operate under. While it is very whackerish to use military rank grades and insignia, there are other, more subtle ways to do it. "Lieutenant" and "Captain" are acceptable. If you have these grades, these should be on the back of each officer's vest, as well as on the helmet crests. Commanders should have white helmets, unlike the green of the subordinates. This way, there is no real whackerism, and people can still tell who is in charge, and who is not.
If you buy a vehicle for team use, and it is agreed upon by your locals, it may be outfitted with a basic mini lightbar or throw light. This is for safety, as it may be parked in some oddball places if disaster hits. MAKE SURE IT IS MARKED. Make sure it is insured, inspected, registered, etc. Keep it in good repair, for it is your equipment truck and lives may depend on it's mechanical state. In some areas, the team-owned CERT vehicle is eligible for disaster or emergency tags and related equipment. If this becomes the case, make sure it is insured as an EV, tagged as an EV, and all drivers are to have EVOC. No exceptions.
Focus on PR. Make regular contacts within your supporting government, fire, EMS, and police departments. Learn from them. If they offer classes, take them. Participate in local safety days. Participate in National Night Out.
Now, the short version is this: There is no short version. If you want a great team, read everything that was written above. Do the things I said do, and don't do the things I said don't do. CERT is a strange and precarious niche in most of the country, as it is a Federally sponsored, Federally created program, who's oversight is left up to local officials who view them as nothing more than REACT II, and assembled and staffed by Joe Blows.
Now...........
Education is free. If I were you, I would go onto FEMA's website and go through their online training courses. Study and complete as many of them as you can. If you want to do anything in this field, you should do this, for it helps greatly. It also will provide you with a viewpoint you might not already have.
opcorn:
