Emergency Preparedness MB - Emergency Exercise/Troop Mobilization

[robhixkg]

Good evening all,

 

I am about to start a Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge class in our troop.  This will be my first time teaching the merit badge.  I understand everything except two requirements, 7, and 8(a)(b).  After a discussion with troop leaders they cannot remember this merit badge ever being done at the troop level.  They always did it at camp or in other venues.  So, for those that do this at the troop level, I would appreciate some ideas and examples of what your troop has done in the past.  For reference, I have provided the requirements below:

 

(7) Take part in an emergency service project, either a real one or a practice drill, with a Scouting unit or a community agency.

 

(8)(a) Prepare a written plan for mobilizing your troop when needed to do an emergency service.  If there is already a plan, explain it.  Tell your part in making it work.

    (b) Take part in at least one troop mobilization.  Before the exercise, describe your part to your counselor.  Afterward, conduct an "after-action" lesson, discussing what your learned during the exercise that
         required changes  or adjustments to the plan.

 

As I said, any ideas or examples of what your troop does would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Stosh]

Talk to the local EMS or Fire Departments for assistance on that.  If they don't involve you in one of their practice drills, they will at least teach you how to run one of your own.

 

By the way I do such "emergency drills" all the time with my boys.  We can be on a hike and I simply say. "Little Timmy just got bit by a snake, or broke his leg, or fell down the well... again."  After they get over the Deer-in-the-headlight look, they generally do a pretty fair job of attending to the situation.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Stosh

[desertrat77]

I concur with Stosh.  

 

Also, if you live near a military installation, you can draw on their expertise as well.   Every military unit has some sort of recall/mobilization plan.    You can take their templates and adapt them for scout usage (telephone recall, reporting instructions, personnel accountability, etc.)

 

After action report:   very important.   The scouts must be frank about what worked, what didn't, etc.

[Hedgehog]

Do the "Troop Mobilization" as part of an event like a charity run.  Although the know the it is a drill, the boys can contact each other that morning though a call or text, meet at a central location and then move out to set up canopies and pass out water and snacks.  

[qwazse]

All of the above:

 

That is, your class should present a number of possibilities to the boys. They should decide what works for them.  If there are people to contact, give them their contact info. Make it the boys' responsibility to carry out the drill. When they have implemented it, have them give you a call to schedule after action review. (Or as some troops call it, thorns and roses.)

Consider each boy's requirement complete once you hear from him what went well, what didn't go so well, what he'd do differently. If you're hearing from multiple boys at once, make sure each one has a say.

 

This is the key, IMHO, to a successful class ... some (if not all) requirements are completed via oral report to the counselor scheduled on the boys' initiative on their own time.

[ZScout5]

You should check the newest requirements for this badge. I believe a troop mobilization is no longer needed, only a plan.

[qwazse]

You should check the newest requirements for this badge. I believe a troop mobilization is no longer needed, only a plan.

 

From scouting.org ...

 

7. Do the following:

a. Take part in an emergency service project, either a real one or a practice drill, with a Scouting unit or a community agency.

b. Prepare a written plan for mobilizing your troop when needed to do emergency service. If there is already a plan, explain it. Tell your part in making it work.

 

So, now troop mobilization is not required, unless you want to do it to fulfill 7a.

[Tampa Turtle]

I do this MB as well. I used to be a ESF-1 (Emergency Special Function '1' - Transportation) at our Emergency Operations Center (only got assigned because I was a scout leader!) and found you can crib a lot of stuff from FEMA training.

 

Before the SAR MB we used to do an actual Search and Rescue exercise for E-Prep MB at a camp out. Some scouts would be 'hurt' and hidden in an area and the other scouts (who had been trained) had to organize a Troop level search, do some traiage, 1st aid, etc. Then we would do an After Action Report. Adults were just there to make sure no one got hurt. Boys enjoyed it.

 

Can be hard to find a good drill as the cool ones are usually based on funding but ask Fire Departments and Military units. Better yet ask the County FEMA Designee for contacts. But  be prepared to make something up. 

 

We did a Zombie Apocalypse one that was mostly a paper exercise and the boys really liked that. (I used the FEMA one)

 

Once we did some vague 'surprise' scenarios during a meeting where the older boys got gory make up and various injuries. Once it was an 'auto accident' outside the scout hut. The victims have the most fun and even if it is a drill some of the boys really have to stop and start working the procedures. You never know which one is really gonna step up.

 

The mobilization plan is always hard. We really don't do that but boys have submitted phone trees and did a dry run. One boy did a physical one and got his patrol mates to show up. One time a boy started the MB real quick when we had heavy rains and got his buddies to shovel sand bags at a City pick up point--I liked that.

 

For E-Prep I made each scout find his home on the Hurricane Storm Surge maps (most live in high risk categories), find his evacuation center, and discuss with his parents. We also did a walk through of our Scout Hut's neighborhood and went through post-storm re-entry procedures.

 

My advice is to NOT dumb down the material. Boys eat this stuff up--once they get past the "I'll just call 9-1-1." But yeah finding the exercise is hard.