[KYHAM] More Thoughts on NIMS 2006 in Kentucky

[Ron Dodson]

I appreciate all of you who took the reins last year and went ahead with
the IS 700 training and in several cases the IS 800 as well.  This put
you way ahead of those who did not.  I had a feeling that sooner or
later it would catch up with us in the amateur radio world. It pleased
me greatly to see so many of you take charge and do it on your own. 

While I have had few comments concerning this new requirement placed
upon us yet, what everyone needs to realize is that ARES/RACES etc. are
NOT being singled out.  The goal of Ky Office of Homeland Security is to
have ALL disaster related agencies and organizations 100% NIMS Compliant
by October 1, 2006.  While many of us are not to sure this is likely to
happen 100% across the board, it is what they intend. Our mission, for
now, is to train up to meet the standard they have set. 

If you feel mistreated by this, consider that ALL present Law
Enforcement officers MUST attend a week long, 40 hour session this year
on NIMS and Homeland Security to remain as LE officers in Kentucky. New
recruits at the police academy in Richmond now have their class time
extended an additional TWO WEEKS to cover same! THAT's 80 HOURS OF
CLASSROOM TIME FOR RECRUITS! At the grassroots level, I have been going
out since last year teaching these courses to fire departments and other
emergency groups in Area 5. Many of whom have had hundreds of hours of
ICS training over the years, yet they still must complete and be able to
show certificates for this new material. So you see, we are far from
alone. 

>From our perspective, it looks as though all ARES and RACES members will
have to have a certificate for IS-700, IS-800, and the new IS-100 and
IS-200 by October 1, 2006 if they plan to respond to any situation after
that date.  As we have only ourselves as a way to track who did versus
who did not take training, I have suggested that the local EC or the
DEC's begin to gather copies of their local volunteer's completion
certificates for ALL their NIMS training already taken as well as future
certificates received. 

I also expect that your served agency will be asking for a copy of this
file by mid-September if not before. All Kentucky agencies will be doing
round 2 of the NIMCAST for July 1-August 1 and they may ask by then how
many are done. 

As SEC, I will ask for a list either through the DEC or from local EC's
(whichever is applicable) by October 1, 2006 after this is compiled.  I
don't care if it is in Excel or just an e-mail or a Word doc., but I
will need a list by October 1 of who has and who has not completed
training and what they have completed. I have no need of all of the
certificate copies as local level is where any compliance audit would
originate should Frankfort go out and ask.  

To answer another popular question, each of these classes is a one shot
deal, if you have a certificate for any of the four courses, whether it
was obtained through home study, in an EMA classroom session, through a
volunteer fire department, your paid job or whatever. IF YOU HAVE ONE
CERTIFICATE FOR EACH COURSE - YOU DO NOT NEED TO RETAKE IT AGAIN.

We have run the direct links several times before on the listserv's, but
here they are again in case you deleted yours.

IS 700 http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700.asp

IS 800, The National Response Plan
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is800.asp

IS-100 http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is100.asp

IS-200 http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is200.asp


Why all this trouble for everyone?  If you read the 9/11 Commission
Report on the terror attacks, you know that a number of problems
hindered their responses.  Some agencies had no ICS at all. Some used
the common ICS concept.  Some used other offshoot ICS formats and no one
knew what anyone was doing! Communications was a disaster in itself! If
you think Katrina was not much better, consider this. From what I have
learned, the federal folks are not promoting a single NIMS development
timeline. This makes all of the states pursue NIMS compliance
differently, I don't think any of the affected states had even started
working on NIMS training last fall. From what I see on the SEC Listserv,
many states are just now where we were a year ago. 

I have heard comments from some quarters that this training will not
help at all. I am keeping an open mind on how helpful this will be to
future responses.  I can tell you that ALL my county responders went
through the IS 700 last year in numerous classroom sessions we had in
Meade County. Maybe it was just the group interaction, maybe it was
something else. I can say that the incident we had on December 1 with
the ammonium nitrate blasting agent (5 times the amount which blew up
the OKC federal building in 1995) was the smoothest we have ever had
considering the danger factor.  EVERYONE was onboard - police, fire,
EMS, state agencies who responded.  No major issues arose during or in
the after action meeting related to ICS. Training or luck, guess we'll
see.

As NB4K pointed out yesterday, it all boils down to eligibility for
federal money. The way Tom Arnold, KyOHS NIMS Compliance Officer
explained that he looks at this is if say a county EMA is your served
agency or a health department.  Since they are using you in some
capacity, even though it is a volunteer role, they could be construed as
"employing" your services and if you are not NIMS Compliant, then that
COULD make the agency non-compliant. If they are non-compliant, they
don't get any future federal $!
Bottom line, they want anyone doing disaster work after October 1 of
this year to have had all of the training.

While we may be considered as responders, do not misconstrue this to
mean we are immediate! responders. No lights, no sirens, no badges...
Our modus operandi has not changed.  We will operate about the way we
have in the past with the inclusion of NIMS into our response structure.
I will help you understand how this works between now and October. Food
for new KEN Training!

Should you have questions, concerns, comments - as always I am here for
you as will be our DEC's and EC's. 

73, 
Ron Dodson, KA4MAP
SEC KY