RACES Notes 10/25/2006

News and Announcements

1) Upcoming Events
	
11/4 CARA Swapmeet
12/2 Xmas Parade in Sierra Vista

2) DICE 2007 - Some of you may remember that we participated 
in DICE 06 on Fort Huachuca last March.  It was a shakedown 
for the new MCU and provided some good training for our 
operators. Although it may seem a little early to consider, 
the preplanning conference for the DoD Interoperability 
Communications Exercise 07 will be held 14-15 November.  
Cochise County and the MCU are likely to participate in this 
exercise again along with a number of other First Responder 
agencies from around AZ.  The actual exercise will probably 
be in March again.  More on this as details become available.

3) ACE Conference - I attended an interesting conference in 
Casa Grande last week. It was called Arizona Commemorates 
EPCRA.  The acronym EPCRA breaks out to Emergency Planning 
and Community Right-to-know Act.  I picked up a number of 
training items for dealing with hazardous materials and 
other incidents.  After I get copies of the various briefings 
we will cover some of the materials on this net. One thing 
I would like to share with you tonight is the address of a 
couple new internet sites:
http://www.justincasearizona.com/
http://www.az211.gov/
Check these out for a number of subjects on emergency preparedness 
for the home.  The Just In Case Arizona site has some good tips 
on preparing emergency response kits.  Anyway, I think you will 
find them interesting.

4) MCU Update - On Monday we checked a couple issues from the 
last mission on the MCU. We were unable to control the camera 
but the camera is now working correctly.  There may be an issue 
as to the boot sequence that caused the problem on the SAR 
mission Sunday night.  The other issue concerning the Red Mountain 
CMA channel was proven to be in fact an incorrect setting.  
We changed the frequency load on the laptop computer and will 
load the corrected data later this week.  The issue about not 
having a radio programming cable for the MCU has also been 
resolved. I picked it up today from the radio shop so I should 
have the PL tones reprogrammed tomorrow. We are still working 
on a replacement laptop.

Training - 
On our last net we discussed the basic 8 hour Go-Kit or deployment bag.  
Among that list of items I mentioned earlier there were a couple 
that their purpose might not be obvious.  So tonight I thought 
would discuss those items in a little more detail.

First the garbage bags.  The larger garbage bags can be quite 
easily converted into rain ponchos, wind breaks or even lean-tos. 
The parachute cord can be used to tie to some type of support to 
help develop the lean-to.  It can also be used as a temporary 
belt to hold the garbage bags close to the body when it is windy. 
Some Duct Tape is also handy for sealing seams.

The binoculars can be used to see identification placards on 
vehicles.  If you have attended a HazMat First Responder course, 
you will understand that getting close enough to read the placard 
with the naked eye could actually be hazardous to your health.   

Chem-Lites or Light sticks can be used for marking trails, road 
turn offs, etc at night or signaling.   Tied to a piece of cord 
and swung in a circle they provide a remarkably visible marker 
to an aircraft overhead and the pilots don't lose their night vision.

The strobe-marker light can provide clear marking of an incident 
scene for approaching vehicles or personnel.  If you have the type 
of light that also have an attached magnet, they can be placed on 
top of your vehicle.  The ones I purchased from the Sportsman's 
Guide came as a two pack with interchangeable Red/White/or Amber 
lenses.  They will operate in excess of 36 hours off one D-Cell.
 http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=141085

In our wonderful southwest climate we can get exposed to a lot of 
wind, dust and sand.  If a helicopter lands near our CP, you may 
find that the goggles will help protect your eyes.  The other 
night, the mini dust storm created by the Border Patrol Blackhawk 
landing near the MCU created a pretty nasty sandblast.  Even the 
smaller DPS Ranger helicopters can create a pretty good wind.

I have used up a number of disposable rubber or latex gloves when 
cleaning up after a minor oil spill or similar situation.  Hopefully, 
as radio operators, we won't need them to assist in cleaning up 
other messes but they are nice to have in the pack and they don't 
take up much room.

Although many of our missions are of relatively short duration with 
support to bike races, coaster races, etc, we never know when we 
will be diverted to something that could turn into a mission of 
longer duration.  We have also been diverted from one mission directly 
into another. For extended operations such as for Search and Rescue 
missions I suggest that you have another bag with some additional 
items available.  
.	Meals such as MREs or HeaterMeals (2 to 3 per day) 
.	Water (canteen or water bottles)
.	Extra batteries for your equipment (flashlights, GPS, or HT)
.	Power Bars 
.	Personal medications 
.	Personal Grooming kit 
.	Extra clothing 
.	Cold/wet-weather gear as the season may require 
.	Hiking boots 
.	Small towel
.	Sleeping bag 
.	Sleeping pad 
.	Headlamp 
.	Plastic trash bags 

Any kit will need to be personalized.  Each time you go out with 
it you may find something to add or take away as you gain experience 
and learn what best works for you.

That's it for tonight, if you have a favorite item to add to the list, 
let me know when we go down for comments.




Bob
Robert L Hollister