Alberta Emergency Management Agency Online Courses - ICS100 & ICS200

It has been a bit since I have posted here. Life sometimes gets busy. Since, we last crossed paths I have had the pleasure of take a couple more courses from the online course selection offered by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). You can  visit their website here: http://www.aema.alberta.ca/online-courses . 

My most recent courses have been the Incident Command System (ICS) levels 100 & 200. Earlier, this year I completed the Basic Emergency Management (BEM) course. You will need to register and create a student profile if you would like to take any of these courses. No more difficult than setting up an email account.

Incident Command System is a standardized management system for keeping control of multiple resources during a planned event or an unscheduled natural disaster or man-made crisis. The standardized approach allows personnel from different agencies to work together in a common framework, no matter what the individual agency management style is when they work alone. 

I found the ICS100 course to be a good introduction to ICS and how it would benefit interagency co-operation. I have received ICS100 training a number of times with different search & rescue units I have been a member of. However, at the time getting a piece of paper stating I had completed the training was not important. I am now motivated to achieve ICS400. ICS100 training will benefit anyone who is any type of first responder, who may find themselves working with others during the course of duty. This includes security workers and Scouting Leaders.

Well, ICS100 is the overview, ICS200 is the first leadership module. In ICS200, you learn to be in command of an incident - planned or not. I enjoyed ICS200 and found I have been using many of the techniques for years, even if I did not know it. Like all skills based courses, to get maximum return you do need to have the opportunity to practice what you are learning. If, all goes well, I will secure an employment opportunity in the very near future that will provide me with every opportunity to practice what I have recently learned. 

With so many operating systems and web browsers out there, delivering online courses can be a challenge for host and student alike. I had a technical challenge while working through ICS200 and I can say without a shadow of doubt, that the Learning Design Section of AEMA, will help you achieve success on completing your course(s).

To get started on taking your first online course with AEMA, first build a student profile and then reach out to Learning Design Team: aema.training@gov.ab.ca. Ask to be registered in the course you would like to take.

Until next time,

Go learn something new!

VAM

Only 16 Copies Left - The GOOD Plan Going Fast

 Well. 36 copies of The GOOD Plan - Get Out Of Dodge, arrived the other day. If you want a copy from this batch you will need to make contact sooner than later.

Either of these email addresses will work:

contact@SATAS4.me

or 

thegoodplan@hotmail.ca

I will fill orders in the order (date/time) the emails are received. 

I hope you get your copy. Once these ones are sold out I will place another order with my printer.

Have a great Summer planning and training with your family......you don't have to tell them camping is training!!

Thank you for your support,

V.A.M.

New Batch of The GOOD Plan - Get Out Of Dodge, Have Just Arrived!!!

The GOOD Plan - New Batch Has Arrived!!!

Howdy All,

I hope your summer is going well. This is great time of the year to get in some training with you and your loved ones.

Need a copy of The GOOD Plan - Get Out Of Dodge?? This is your lucky day!! Another batch has just arrived.

Fire me an email at:

thegoodplan@hotmail.ca

or

contact@satas4.me

We will get you, your copy!!

V.A.M.

Rooftop Tents by Treeline Outdoors, A GOOD Idea

Treeline Outdoors

On The Inside Looking Out!! 

Rooftop Tents may be the best idea for folks in the emergency preparedness community, who do not own an RV, a cabin, BOL or other shelter to rely on during a crisis or natural disaster. Heck, even if you do own one or all of the above a rooftop tent is a great backup.

Very recently, I met Luke from Treeline Outdoors based in Turner Valley, Alberta. That makes this a local company, at least for me.

I was very happy to discover a local provider of a type of shelter I really like. The rooftop tents from Treeline Outdoors are first class. No shortcuts, not cut corners and no compromise in materials. The honeycomb aluminium base plates used on many of the Treeline's unit is super light and super strong. That is a great combo, when you have to bolt it to the roof rack on your vehicle. As these are designed to be used right here in the Great White North, it is awesome to see that the fabrics chosen are designed to function here. No lightweight oxford nylons on these tents. These tents use a durable, rip-stop poly-cotton, PU coated canvas for the tent body and a polyester PU & UV coated fly material. I am impressed.

So, support local business if you are in the market for a rooftop tent unit. Shop at Treeline Outdoors. Learn more at their website: treelineoutdoors.com

Or follow on their Faceboook page: facebook.com/treelineoutdoor

VAM

For further info checkout Mountainman's Mantra:  https://mtnmanblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/rooftop-tents-shop-local.html 

A GOOD Helmet Design by Hard Head Veterans

Looking around the big ol' internet for interesting gear to share and I bumped into this helmet, photo to the left.

This helmet is produced by Hard Head Veterans (www.hardheadveterans.com ), a veterans owned and operated company in the US.

This particular model, Above The Ear (ATE) is quite interesting for those who are still in the game or those who are privately employed to care. This helmet seems to have many features that would appeal to those in harm's way right down to weekend warriors at the airsoft playground. It comes with a front attachment point for your AN/PVS-14's and side mounting rails for comms gear or laser/lights.

I learned about this helmet while poking around the Blog at Black Rifle Coffee Company (www.blackriflecoffee.com ) and came across their post: BRCC Skid Lids.

The primary reason I am posting this today is I want to learn more about this helmet without the testimonials coming from the company. I have read those and this is one checked out piece of kit. What I would like would be to hear from those who own or use this helmet and get their honest feedback.....no sugar coating, no holds barred. Tell it like it is. What do you like?? What doesn't work for you?? Why?? How would you make this better??

This helmet as a Threat level IIIA rating and the whole unit only weighs 2.7lbs, that is awesome. That is like half the weight of that crappy Kevlar helmet I was burdened with when I was in Yugo back in the '90's. I like where helmet technology is headed and I want to really support this piece of kit.....but, I have to do that from a point of knowledge. I am a bit short these days, so I cannot go out and invest in every cool bit of gear to test and then post on here.  Starting at $425 USD per helmet they are about half the cost of their competition, another reason why I really want to support this product and their company.

So, if you can.....please, help me out and send me some feedback. Post in the comments section below.

Together we will know more!

V.A.M.

Updated Image - 01 May 2021 from Hard Head Veteran's website: https://www.hardheadveterans.com/collections/tactical-helmet-hard-head-veterans

Emergency Preparedness Week, Are You Ready??

Evenin' All,

Well, it is Emergency Preparedness Week again. Each year in Canada, the first full week of May (07-13 May 2017) is reserved for emergency preparedness. For those who are new, this is the week for education and learning new techniques or finding new gear. For those who have been at this a bit, this week is a great time to review your family emergency plan, rotate water stocks, inspect kit and run a few emergency drills. Are you ready??

In the Town of High River, emergency preparedness is the flavour for the whole month of May, each year. The largest challenge, even in locations that see an above average number of natural events that can result in evacuations or emergency response, is complacency. Once you let your guard down, that is the moment that disaster will strike. Not trying to scare anyone, just raising awareness levels. I agree no one can stay at ready level 5 all the time......but, a healthy level 2 is not going to kill you. Complacency leads to apathy and from there you are totally vulnerable to any number of situations that could in fact kill you. 

Well, over at SATAS Co, they have just opened their YouTube channel and published a couple of videos. Here is the link to the short one:

SATAS Co Emergency Preparedness Week

Stay ready!!

VAM

eBook on SATAS4.ME - The GOOD Plan in PDF

The G.O.O.D. Plan - Get Out Of Dodge by V. Andrew McMillan

Evenin' Folks.

Last night I posted that the new SATAS Co website is live. That is still true tonight. 

I just wanted to let you know that you can purchase and download: The G.O.O.D. Plan - Get Out Of Dodge e-Book in PDF format from the SATAS Co website. The cost is $10 and includes the GST.

Follow this link:

Shop @ SATAS Co

Have a great night.

V.A.M.

SATAS Co and SATAS4.ME Has Arrived!!!

SATAS Co Logo 

One step closer. SATAS Co is now a reality. The website is also operational, albeit still getting tweaked and fine tuned. The link to the website is here: SATAS4.ME 

Please drop by for a visit of the new site. If you notice I have missed any corrections please use the contact form on the website and leave me a message of what still needs to be tuned up. I am quite happy to make the website better, but sometimes I have been working on it so much I miss even the obvious stuff. 

I have not figured out discounts or coupons, yet. I am still quite new to this website building stuff, but for all my followers on here, if you mention that this is the site that you learned of the existence of SATAS4.ME , I will ensure you get treated well if you need any courses or services offered at SATAS Co. I will start posting coupon codes here for savings over there. (Once I figure out how to make that happen.) 

One last point, if you have a group of friends/family that want to take any of the courses offered by SATAS Co or if there are any courses you would like me to instruct to your group, please contact me using the contact page on the website.

Thank you for your support,

V.Andrew

GOOD & Free Education - Basic Emergency Management Course

Evening All,

GOOD skills are easy to come by if you are watching for opportunities. Recently, I became aware of a course being offered, free-of-charge, from Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). The link to this course is here: AEMA Basic Emergency Management Course

The course material is easy to download, it is a PDF manual. It takes about 3 to 4 hours to work through at a relaxed pace. Now to get your certificate you need to register and then complete the online exam, which I am told takes about an hour. I am waiting for my login to be approved, so I can write the final exam. 

Always learn something new!

VAM.