Dateline 11/04/2009:  Little Rock, Arkansas   A total of 18 amateur radio operators (hams) completed the Homeland Security Communications Unit Leader (COML) course today.  This course is designed to teach the latest management practices in disasters of all sizes.  This is the first class of this kind in Arkansas, and people from other services such as emergency management, 911 dispatchers, corrections officers, and hospitals were in attendance.

According to instructors Chris Baker and Al Ruiz, the greatest benefit imparted to the students was the opportunity to work with their counterparts from many areas.  The class worked together on understanding how to implement incident communications within the ICS structure.  Without effective interpersonal communications, sharing of resources and multiple agencies working toward a common goal, ICS cannot be effective to mitigate emergencies.

American Radio League Arkansas Section Manager J.M. Rowe N5XFW was very pleased with the class.  “Our instructors are experienced in the real world, and obviously have been in disasters and performed well.  And they are great teachers.  We appreciate them sharing what they have learned with us.  This is a step forward for the art and science of disaster communications in the State of Arkansas,” said Rowe.

The students now have a “Taskbook” to complete before they are certified as Communications Unit Leaders.  These taskbooks can take years to get done, as experience at real world incidents is needed. “Classes will only take you so far; leaders need to have the opportunity to get real time experiences that drills and exercises cannot reproduce,” said Rowe.

This class was held in conjunction with the Arkansas Interoperable Communications Conference this week in Little Rock.  Attended by a wide range of medical responders, emergency managers, law enforcement, communications specialists, and fire personnel, the conference is an opportunity to learn current practices and network with other people in the same line of work.