P a ge 16 t opside V olume 114, I s s u e 3
IMAST Article and photos by Auxiliarist Barbara Sama
Once again, we have been fortunate enough to team up with the Active duty and Reservists with the goal of supporting our team through Incident Management Auxiliary Support Team. Sector Delaware Bay was the site of intense training as 30 volunteers gathered to learn and qualify when an Incident Command Post becomes necessary during any event. We were invited to participate in the morning briefing with the Reservists as well as meet our fellow team. Our volunteer efforts during these types of operations will be invaluable.
Auxiliarists had actual hands on exercises with IMSS software that is used for actual events. The team proved to be strong as we helped each other to learn the system.
Tom Roberson( Right) lead the training on March 18, 2017 in the General Green Conference room at Sector Delaware Bay. Tom was well supported by several volunteers who were there to help us connect with the new software.
Current world situations demand that we be prepared to act in any situation. Prior incidents have shown us that we must be able to communicate quickly and efficiently. Incident Command Posts has proven to be a vital force. As Auxiliarists, we have the ability to support our fellow shipmates in time of need. The training that we are receiving will free up our fellow team members for other duties. After all, no job is finished till the paper work gets done!
Incident Command Posts are used not only for emergency situations, but also for various other events. A simple event as a football game or a political convention cannot happen without the coordination’ s of various organizations. The average consumer will never be aware of the behind the scene activities and they never will if the event goes smoothly. The simple act of having all participating groups such Police, EMTs, etc. coordinate is a monumental task. Having a command post where all the agencies can communicate on the same wave length and know where each other are could save a life.
We will be the starting point. Knowing who is here is just as vital as knowing where they are. The ability to account for all participants can save time, money and worry.
Kaitlyn Wojtanowksi( Left) was one of the five volunteers that assisted us. Kaitlyn certainly has unbelievable knowledge of the system that enabled us to continue forward in our training. The left photo was taken at the beginning of our training. She never faulted as two to three of us would call her over for help. Enthusiastically she would resolve all the problems we had! The photo to the right, was after the training was over. Kaitlyn was a bit overwhelmed but she never showed it.
Our training will continue with on line assignments. The class was just the beginning of many more to come. Our goal is to be a vital force and assist our active duty fellow shipmates, so we will continue our training efforts. Tom Gorman and Ernest Stevens( Left) hit the keyboards as fast as the instructor gives out the commands.
Homework is going to be a challenge!