Minimum Requirements

• Applicants to Colorado AuxComm must have a willingness to serve and be at least 18 years of age
• Completion of IS-100.c, IS-200.c, IS-700.b, and IS-800.c prior to the class (https://training.fema.gov/is/crslist.aspx?all=true)
• ICS-300 and ICS400 are optional
• An active FCC Amateur Radio License (General/Extra). Those with Technician Class license must obtain General Class license within one year after completion of course
• Co.Train Colorado Interoperability Training - Module 1 radio 101 - Course ID 1021323
• Co.Train Colorado Interoperability training - Module 2 Interoperability Basics - Course ID 1027248
• Co.Train Colorado Interoperabiltiy Training - Module 3 Colorado Interoperability - Course ID 1027249
• OPSEC Awareness for Military Members, DoD Employees and Contractors
• Colorado AuxComm Volunteer Service Agreement
• Colorado AuxComm Application
• AuxComm Fingerprinting Process

Why do we need ICS Certifications?

We require ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800 at a minimum but why? In a nutshell, the reason we need it is because our served agencies, Arapahoe County Sheriff and City of Aurora to name a few use it. Period. We MUST know where we fit in, how we fit in, and why we fit in so that we can blend in and contribute to solving the problem at hand.

Maybe my introduction to ICS will be helpful to your understanding. I started out in the Volunteer Fire Department before ICS and everything worked great! Our mutual aid departments were also in Santa Fe County so we all followed the same training format and shared the same terminology. Our district, La Cienega Fire & Rescue, included Interstate 25 which meant we we shared a border with Sandoval County and also with Santo Domingo Indian Pueblo. Lucky for us, we all had the New Mexico State Fire frequency programmed into EVERY Fire/EMS/LE radio. This allowed us to talk and coordinate just fine.

As time went on we kept reading and hearing about the firefighter fatalities and complete failure of firefighting in Southern California and it was then that people started talking about a “Unified Command.” In short and over a long period of time this evolved into what we now know as ICS.

When ICS was thrust upon us, we thought, Hey!, our system isn't broke so why fix it? For me, it was an event/case study complete with video and graphic photographs that put it all in perspective.

This is what I remember from almost 30 years ago...3 firefighters, in what you and I would call a Class A engine or pumper for slang were sitting on a ridge top in Southern California. This truck was not as big as the City Engines we see today, but was typical of rural fire engines. It was a relatively short wheelbase, had a pump that could push 1250 gallons per minute, and had a 500 gallon water tank. When they ran out of water they moved to top of the ridge line and radioed into their “Unified Command” and requested a tanker. California Department of Forestry acknowledged their request and told them to “sit tight” someone was on the way. As the 3 firefighters took a break they noticed a slurry bomber coming in for a run. I suppose they watched it with a sense of awe,as I have, until they realized it was headed straight for them. At the last second they dove underneath their Fire Engine to protect themselves. The weight of the slurry at the speed of the bomber hit the fire truck so hard it blew the tires out and bottomed out the suspension and killed the firefighters.

But how and why did that happen??? They radio “Unified Command” that was supposed to fix all of the earlier problems!

As a rural firefighter called out to wildland fires in other districts and areas it was clear to me that I needed to learn the new way so I did not end up like those 3 firefighters on that ridge line.

In our rural and metro fire departments a “Tanker” was a semi-truck with a 3,000 to 5,000 water tank. In a “local” wildfire scenario the “tanker” takes water to the “engines” that need it. In the Forest Service(Federal/National Level) a “Tanker” is what you and I would have called (before our ICS Training!) a Slurry Bomber, a big airplane. Incidentally, the Forest Service term for the Rural/Metro “tanker” is “Water Tender.”

ICS bridges the gap by providing common terminology, a common command structure, and a common duty. You ALWAYS know what YOUR role in the situation is, what the chain of command is, what everybody else' role is and everybody knows what frequencies are used for what communications. Another huge benefit of ICS is it's scalability. You can use it for an event like the Hayman fire and just as easily use it for a single car off the road with a handful or responders.

As Radio Communicators you may put somebody's life at risk if you get the radio call for a Tanker and you send a Slurry Bomber!. This is why it's so incredibly important that you take the training seriously and every year you revisit it for updates. As someone who's been on the other end of that radio call and who put his life in the hands of that unfamiliar voice I cannot understate the importance of this!

It's clear to me that we've done the ICS training but, we don't really use it so we don't fully understand it. At Agua Fria Fire & Rescue we made it a point to implement ICS in EVERY event we did. When we had public activities we did an IAP and we filled every ICS position. Some positions might have been filled by the same individual but every position was filled. When we had that 1 car rollover in the middle of the night we used ICS. There may have been 4 responders but we used ICS! That's how we learned it and I would like to see us start using it more in our events & training's.

In the March 2016 edition of QST magazine, Public Service column pages 81 & 82 titled”Education – The Foundation of Preparation” K1CE gives writes “A brief guide to FEMA's Independent Study courses for he public service communicator.” I will send an e-mail out with this article attached in case you missed it. Please read it!

In the May 2016 QST, the same column pages 77 & 78 K1CE pen's an article titled “AUXCOMM – Intense Training for Incident Communications” in which he provides a “review of a tough Federal course for serious communicators.” This article will give you a heads up on what our Colorado AuxComm training will be like. I will send a scanned copy of it too.

I hope my rambling has helped some of you, but if it's still clear as mud I ask that you let me know as I'm sure you aren't the only one. It is vitally important that YOU fully understand ICS before you participate in events with our served agencies.

We have uploaded the New Member Orientation in a PowerPoint format for you to download to your PC and view locally. If you do not have Microsoft PowerPoint we recommend you download the Apache Open Office suite at the link below. There is no cost for Apache Open Office and it will read and create Microsoft Office compatible documents.

• Apache OpenOffice Download

Please download the New Member Orientation pps above, view it, and once you are comfortable with the information it contains please click on the link to the New Member Orientation Quiz. This is a short and easy quiz just to review the highlights of the Orientation. It should take you about 5 minutes to complete. Once you have taken the quiz your results will be e-mailed to training, for grading. He will respond to you with your score and can answer any questions you might have.

• New Member Orientation PowerPoint
• New Member Orientation Quiz

If you have any questions about the Orientation or it’s contents please contact Training. If you have any problems downloading the Orientation or accessing the Quiz please contact Kevin, N2NWA.

2024 Training/Exercise & Event Calendar

Updated August 29, 2024

(Trainings & Exercises & Events are subject to change during the year)

(All monthly meetings / trainings will be Person to Person & Virtual - unless noted differently)

• Jan 6 - Special Event - KIDS Day - ARRL - TBA
• Jan 11 - Monthly Meeting - Administrative Update From EC, Training Calendar for 2024, Taskbooks; Map reading and orienteering
• Jan 20 - NCARC Fest - See NCARC Web Site
• Jan 27/28 - Special Event - ARRL Winter Field Day - TBA
• Feb 8 - Monthly Meeting - Business - Antennas - Winlink - Simplex Exercise - Review ACARES 217A
• Feb 17 - CPR/AED Training - Douglas/Elbert ARES - 0800 to 1700 - Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information
• Feb 18 - The Swapfest @ Adams County Fairgrounds - See https://www.rmham.org/the-swapfest-2024 for details
• Feb 24 - Exercise - Simplex Exercise with Region 1 & 3 - Further details at 1000hours
• Feb 24 - Joint Training - Rampart SAR - Lost Person & Shelter Tng at 0900hours
• Mar 2 - Radio Frequency Test - ACARES ICS-217a Radio Test at 1030hours
• Mar 14 - Monthly Meeting - Business Meeting and Training agenda - Build antenna (CANCELLED due to WEATHER)
• Apr 4 - Special Event - Solar Eclipse 
• Apr 6 - LARCFEST - In Longmont at the Boulder County Fairgrounds -  0900-1300hrs

April is SKYWARN Training Month!

• Apr 11 - Monthly Meeting - SKYWARN Training @ Cherry Creek Schools ISF Bldg - 1800-2000hrs. Sign up at https://www.weather.gov/bou/spotters
• Apr 20 - Training - SKYWARN Training @ Adams County OEM (Host Rampart SAR) - 1000-1200hrs. Sign up at https://www.weather.gov/bou/spotters
• Apr 20 - Special Event - Red Cross Radio Demonstration @ 1000hrs.
• Apr 22 - Training - SKYWARN Training @ Bennett Community Center, Bennett CO - 1800-2000hrs. Sign up at https://www.weather.gov/bou/spotters
• May 7 - Special Event - Assist Arvada CERT with Radio Test at 1430 hrs
• May 8 - Special Event - Denver OEM Siren Test at 1100hrs
• May 9 - Monthly Meeting - Business Meeting and Training on Hot Spots
• May 11 - Training/Exercise - Antenna Building & Fox Hunt 0900-1500hrs at the ESC 
• May 11 - Special Event - Armed Forces Cross Band Test - See ARRL for Details
• May 18-19 Special Training - HSEEP FEMA Course - State EOC - Details on Co.Train
• Jun 13 - Monthly Meeting - Business Meeting and Special Presentation on the Artemis Space Project
• Jun 15 - Special Event - ARRL KIDS Day - TBA
• Jun 15 - Special Event - Fire Muster in Littleton - 0630-1330hours
• Jun 22- ARRL Field Day - At Northfield Center - 1030-1900hours
• Jul 11 - Monthly Meeting - Prepare for Arapahoe County Fair & Adams OEM ref EOC Operations
• Jul 13 - CANCELLED -Technician License Class - Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if interested
  
• Jul 20 - CANCELLED -Technician License Class and exam - Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if interested
  
• Jul 25 - 28 - Arapahoe County Fair 
• Jul 31- Aug 4 - Adams County Fair 
• Aug 8 - Monthly Meeting - Business Meeting and County Fair AAR
• Aug 9-11 Special Event - Strasburg Days / Parade on Aug 10
• Aug 16 - Special Event - Bennett Community Night - 1600-1900hours
• Aug 24 - Exercise - Radio Simplex relay of message - 0900-1200hours 
• Sept 7 - Exercise - Radio HF Exercise on 40 meters 7.235 - 1400-1500hours
• Sept 7 - Special Event - Bennett Day / Parade - TBA
• Sept 12 - Monthly Meeting - Business Meeting & Red Cross Shelter Training
• Sept 21 - Exercise - Sheltering with Adams OEM in Bennett - 0900-1300hours - TBA
• Sept 28 - Tabletop Exercise - Statewide tabletop exercise - 1300-1500hours - TBA
• Sept 29 - Special Event - Preparedness Community meeting - May Farms in Byers - 1400-1700hours
• Oct 10 - Monthly Meeting - Prepare for SET Exercise
• Oct 17 - Special Event - GREAT Shake Out Earthquake Exercise - At 1017hours - TBA
• Oct 21 - Operation Big Boy - Big Boy #4014 Train - Details TBA
• Oct 26 - Exercise - SET Exercise - 1300-1700hours - TBA
• Nov 14 - Monthly Meeting - Business Meeting, SET Review, and winter weather update
• Dec 7 - Special Event - SKYWARN Recognition Day
• Dec 12 - Monthly Meeting - End of the Year Recognition & Celebration Dinner

How to Use COTRAIN, the Colorado state training web site:

1. Browse to http://train.org/colorado/welcome
2. If you do not have a COTRAIN account, click on the Create an Account button; if you have an account, log in and skip to step 5
3. When the COTRAIN Create Account page appears, fill in the fields as directed and click Create Account
4. Log in using your new user name and password
5. To check what courses COTRAIN has on file for you, click YOUR LEARNING and then click on the Your Transcript tab
6. To see what courses are available for you to take, click on COURSE CATALOG

All training meeting will be held in person except where noted.