First of all, this has nothing to do with religion but only the faith among brothers. Yes, I am not religous but I do believe in a higher power, the Almighty. This is not about me but about my team, my friends, my brothers.
August 21, 2001 was the day we graduated from our Search and Rescue training held at Tactical Operations Group 1, 1st Tactical Operations Wing, Philippine Air Force, Lokan Airport, Baguio City. Of the 50 or so participants, only 27 graduated, and fewer still remained.
We did uphold our mission and vision is service to the people of Baguio City and its neighboring municipalities. From the day of graduation to present, those few were still up to the task of serving the public without any compensation at all. We did have however small help from the government like a disgruntled old Isuzu L300 van, pimped to serve its purpose as an emergency vehicle. Got some old beacon lights from unserviceable old police vehicle, and some siren from a defective Type-B ambulance then viola, we have a rapid response vehicle.
We fabricated some of our equipments such as the spine/back boards (I think those are still being used up to now due to its lightness and versatility), a half spine/back board and then this makeshift spider strap from old seatbelts and sling bags. Since most if not all of us are volunteers, we pulled together whatever resources and money we could spare to keep our team running and available for deployment in case of an emergency. We manned a former 117 base (Local 911 system) which was abandoned if I can say that for whatever reason we do not know. We have five phone lines, four portable radios, one base radio and one mobile base radio. We kept the base running and operational 24 hours a day and seven day a week and for how long we can. Packed our gears on our individual go bags or whatever you call it and a fabricated stoke litter/basket ready for day to day emergencies or as the need arises.
Self-study and group table-top exercises.
Knowledge and skills are essential to keep us sharp. We train among out selves from basic table-top and analogy to field hands on training. We trade crafts with other emergency response groups to better our communication and response. Some of us have recieved additional training and specialization from other government agencies and pass the knowledge to the rest of the team. We conducted our own drills and scenarios whenever we can both urban and outdoors.
Time passed and Emergency Awareness, Respose and Management are becomming more popular and has been taken seriously from the national government to the barangays (yeah but not all). Some of us got employed by the government for the sole purpose of addressing the planning, prevention, mitigation and public education with regards to emergencies, calamities to disasters. The rest of the team stood in support for those who got employed and still served as we use to.
After Emergency Response Norton Bus at Bokod, Benguet.
For sometime, we realized at first, we really are very eager to learn and serve the public. Then it shifted to something like satisfying our adrenaline rush and then it shifted to adventure and the wanting to experience something new. But as days, months and years passed by, with all those exposure in various types of incidents, we learned that the most important person is the one next to you. Yes, for only the person right next to you will be the one to look after you when things does not go according to plan. We had this mind set to protect our own first, only then that we could do what we do best.
Time flies fast, some of us have joined the ranks of the employed by the government, some got married and others went ahead of their lives. Within those years, new faces emerged, some claimed to be trained by this and that, some came from prominent non-government organizations (NGO's), some medical professionals and then some just plain volunteers who wanted to help but only have their selves to offer as additional man power whenever needed, some also have the eagerness to learn the how to's and others have a problem in managing their adrenaline, some who learned something by way of government sponsored training have had their heads bloated and believed in themselves as superior to others. Yup, these new wanabe's never had the core values nor a wide understanding of our purpose. Well, every entity or organization has its rotten, but enough with that, lets not spoil my writing shall we? (chuckles)
Let's face it, we do have our goals, our ideals our missions and then we have our own lives and family. For the few who started it all, life must go on, some went abroad in search for greener pasture, some remained and had local jobs, some started small businesses. We did spend part of our lives serving the public and that part of us will forever remain. Without politics and all that defication that often hits the fan, the new ones and the wannabe's have their youth, but we, we only have our bond. Like it or not, the few would always come back and gather together and do what we love, that plain public service with that "I got your back brother" and the rare moment of bonding and reflecting on what we have become now. Regardless, that bond has never been stronger as days, months and years pass by. To our cause and to our brotherhood, indeed we are... True Believers.
August 21, 2001 was the day we graduated from our Search and Rescue training held at Tactical Operations Group 1, 1st Tactical Operations Wing, Philippine Air Force, Lokan Airport, Baguio City. Of the 50 or so participants, only 27 graduated, and fewer still remained.
We did uphold our mission and vision is service to the people of Baguio City and its neighboring municipalities. From the day of graduation to present, those few were still up to the task of serving the public without any compensation at all. We did have however small help from the government like a disgruntled old Isuzu L300 van, pimped to serve its purpose as an emergency vehicle. Got some old beacon lights from unserviceable old police vehicle, and some siren from a defective Type-B ambulance then viola, we have a rapid response vehicle.
We fabricated some of our equipments such as the spine/back boards (I think those are still being used up to now due to its lightness and versatility), a half spine/back board and then this makeshift spider strap from old seatbelts and sling bags. Since most if not all of us are volunteers, we pulled together whatever resources and money we could spare to keep our team running and available for deployment in case of an emergency. We manned a former 117 base (Local 911 system) which was abandoned if I can say that for whatever reason we do not know. We have five phone lines, four portable radios, one base radio and one mobile base radio. We kept the base running and operational 24 hours a day and seven day a week and for how long we can. Packed our gears on our individual go bags or whatever you call it and a fabricated stoke litter/basket ready for day to day emergencies or as the need arises.
Self-study and group table-top exercises.
Knowledge and skills are essential to keep us sharp. We train among out selves from basic table-top and analogy to field hands on training. We trade crafts with other emergency response groups to better our communication and response. Some of us have recieved additional training and specialization from other government agencies and pass the knowledge to the rest of the team. We conducted our own drills and scenarios whenever we can both urban and outdoors.
Time passed and Emergency Awareness, Respose and Management are becomming more popular and has been taken seriously from the national government to the barangays (yeah but not all). Some of us got employed by the government for the sole purpose of addressing the planning, prevention, mitigation and public education with regards to emergencies, calamities to disasters. The rest of the team stood in support for those who got employed and still served as we use to.
After Emergency Response Norton Bus at Bokod, Benguet.
For sometime, we realized at first, we really are very eager to learn and serve the public. Then it shifted to something like satisfying our adrenaline rush and then it shifted to adventure and the wanting to experience something new. But as days, months and years passed by, with all those exposure in various types of incidents, we learned that the most important person is the one next to you. Yes, for only the person right next to you will be the one to look after you when things does not go according to plan. We had this mind set to protect our own first, only then that we could do what we do best.
Time flies fast, some of us have joined the ranks of the employed by the government, some got married and others went ahead of their lives. Within those years, new faces emerged, some claimed to be trained by this and that, some came from prominent non-government organizations (NGO's), some medical professionals and then some just plain volunteers who wanted to help but only have their selves to offer as additional man power whenever needed, some also have the eagerness to learn the how to's and others have a problem in managing their adrenaline, some who learned something by way of government sponsored training have had their heads bloated and believed in themselves as superior to others. Yup, these new wanabe's never had the core values nor a wide understanding of our purpose. Well, every entity or organization has its rotten, but enough with that, lets not spoil my writing shall we? (chuckles)
Let's face it, we do have our goals, our ideals our missions and then we have our own lives and family. For the few who started it all, life must go on, some went abroad in search for greener pasture, some remained and had local jobs, some started small businesses. We did spend part of our lives serving the public and that part of us will forever remain. Without politics and all that defication that often hits the fan, the new ones and the wannabe's have their youth, but we, we only have our bond. Like it or not, the few would always come back and gather together and do what we love, that plain public service with that "I got your back brother" and the rare moment of bonding and reflecting on what we have become now. Regardless, that bond has never been stronger as days, months and years pass by. To our cause and to our brotherhood, indeed we are... True Believers.
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Please leave your thoughts about my blog. Will get back to you as soon as I can. ~ Ryann