Juan just shared the latest Grass Valley sandbox exercise video. This scenario added law enforcement and medevac ships, as the fire started during a SWAT/SET standoff.
Always great stuff to learn and see on the Blancolirio channel
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The first portion of the video, the one during Juan Browne’s discussion of the FTA and the TFR PSA should be required viewing for UAV pilots obtaining their FAA TRUST Certificate, as well as for any CBO training and UAV Pre-Flight Checklists.
No, it won’t stop idiots from being idiots, but right now, anything that will help reduce incursions can’t be bad.
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The actual scenario, well, it may not resonate with some, possibly even irritate others, but this is a really good thing to see more of. There are two primary ICS position Incident Management qualification systems in the USA, along with several variations of them—NWCG’s 310-1 and FEMA’s NQS. I think we can all agree that each has some challenges in implementation, standardization, and execution. The final FEMA Review Council’s Report articulated some of the challenges and issues facing Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (FSLTT) entities when ordering incident management teams and seeking qualified individuals for all-hazards incidents. Much of the conversation regarding FEMA and its role (read: funding, grants, etc.) concerns standardization, appropriate preparedness, and the current lack of development and recognition of national standards for All-Hazards preparedness and response. It is part of the Mission Ready Teams (MRTs) and Special Response Teams (SRTs) discussions. It is great to see this type of “cross-training” or blending multiple disciplines into incident management training. Some will argue that this is old news, but I will respond that it is certainly not universal, practiced, or even accepted across all disciplines and FSLTT entities across the USA. As states are pushed, pulled, or whatever you want to call it into taking on more of the preparation and response activities for All-Hazards incidents, we will all be pushed, pulled, or placed outside our usual comfort zones. Like it or not, R5 has probably done the best job of multi-discipline training with the All-Hazards nature of some of their scenarios in position courses, S-420, the AAIMS course, etc. It is also great to see that 520 and CIMC expanded the boundaries of comfort in their scenarios.
The next steps needed will push everyone into an even more unfamiliar area. Combine that with dwindling participation from the traditional “heavy lift” agencies that supply a majority of the wildland discipline IMT workforce, and it will be interesting to see and participate in
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