Cscconferencecall2-24-06

MEMORANDUM
DATE: 24 February 2006

SUBJECT:
Canine Sub-Committee Meeting Minutes
Please find the attendance and agenda items addressed on the 24 February 2006 Canine Sub-committee conference call: MEETING DATE(s)
MEMBERSHIP / ATTENDANCE
SWG Chair
Sub-committee Meeting Minutes
Page 2

AGENDA ITEMS/DISCUSSION
1) January 2006 Meeting Minutes
2) Review of January Meetings in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
a. Operations Group b. Search Working Group c. Canine Sub-Committee 3) New EvaluatorsCanine Task Force Questionnaire
4) Canine Vest
5) New CSST Site Requirements
6) Revisit Policy of Shadow Evaluators Evaluating 10 Dogs Per Level
7) Evaluator Salary
8) Out-of-system HRD certification
9) FL-TF1 CP (lessons learned)
10) Canine Awareness Videos
11) Columbian International Competition/National competition
12) Q & A’s
PROPOSED ACTIONS

1) Approve January 2006 Meeting Minutes
2) Review of January Meetings in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
• WG’s tweaked PDs (post Katrina) to prepare for 21 day review– this is still going • Hurricane rotation model (since voted by SA’s to be 3 closest, then rotate. System- wide ground transport module being discussed) Logistics WG is in the process of detailing log needs. • Sanctioned Training Courses – Mechanism for sanctioned training courses was sent • Will this mechanism work for the TN CSST? Teresa will contact Deborah Burnett. • Peel and stick markings – Rory reported that stickers have been designed. Two stickers will fit on a 8.5 x 11 sheet – can be cut in half to make two stickers that will easily fit in the pocket of BDU. Can be used to stick on door or window so as to not damage property with paint. Stickers might not work in all weather conditions so paint will be used as a backup – write on stickers with sharpie. It will be recommended that each task force prints up about 2,500 stickers. SWG Chair
Sub-committee Meeting Minutes
• Keep Markings same, use STM as part of IST (?) to flex to the situation – no change • Be a part of disasterdog.org (i.e., STM section (change name – disastersearch.us?) – Everyone ok with putting a STM section on disasterdog.org. Teresa will contact Roxanne to ask her about adding the STM section as well as changing the site name to disastersearch.us. Will need to keep disasterdog.org and redirect to new site name. • Rory reported that the terms “primary search” and “secondary search” were stressed at the meeting. Primary search – quick search, hailing, visual). Secondary Search – detailed search to pin-point location – final clearing of area. Task Forces need to move away from terms such as “hasty search”. • Rory reported that during the hurricanes there was a big problem with data flow between teams in the field and the IST (areas covered, location of victims, etc.). Because of this it has been recommended that a STM is added as part of the IST. • Rory reported that a recommendation has been made that all teams start to use the next generation of Garmin GPS’s. All Task Force GPS’s should be compatible to the Garmin MapSource software. • Vet group approved to proceed with updated K-9 medical cache and decon process; also compiling resource list of in-system vets for IST; have started up a website for Q&A’s – Teresa will forward emails from the vet group to anyone interested. • Input as to what handlers already carry with the for K-9 medical cache – Cathy reported items in her pack include: soft muzzle, vet-bond, nail trimmers, booty (1), vet wrap, cling, gauze, eye wash, eye ointment, antibiotic ointment, flagyl, thermometer, tweezers, ET tube (sized to dog), and a bandana). Contact Teresa if you have anything else to add to this list. • K-9 Vest updated – Modification to initial design - flag must be on top with DHS. FEMA under DHS and then the Task Force under FEMA. No Velcro – FEMA across chest strap. Task Force should not use this at the local level – only for FEMA initiated events. • Evaluation groups approved for posting – done. • Updated DSCREP approved for posting – done. • Discussed with Search Work Group the idea of Canine Sub-Committee becoming a Working Group – Search Work Group is happy working closely with canine and would like to keep it that way. Teresa asked about adding an additional person as an SME. Teresa would like to add Jennifer Massey (VA-TF1) to the Canine Sub-Committee to assist so Debra can fully participate in the meetings without having to worry about taking notes for the minutes. • Log request for airline approved crate replacing existing ones in cache – The request 3) New Evaluators – Tracy McDonald (handler – TN-TF1), Susann Brown (handler – TX-
4) Canine Task Force Questionnaire
• Debra will enter the new questionnaires that she has received and will then send out a list of the missing ones to the Reps. so they can follow-up with the canine coordinators. SWG Chair
Sub-committee Meeting Minutes
Page 4
5) Canine Vest
6) New Site Requirements (SME’s – Student/Instructor Ratio)
• Need to have “helpers” apply as SME’s for the CSST. These people need to be sponsored by their TF as good “hands-on” victims for dogs. They are not required to have didactic instructional experience, but must have completed the CSST. This needs to be done asap. 7) Revisit Policy of Shadow Evaluators Evaluating 10 Dogs Per Level (FSA & CE)
• Let the system work for awhile and revisit this at a later date to determine if it is still an issue. Encourage all Task Forces to notify neighboring teams when they are conducting FSA’s. 8) Evaluator Salary
9) Out of system HRD certification
• TFs are requesting guidance as to HR standards. Cannot use grant funds for HR testing/training. CSC discussed looking at an out-of-system national HR standard to recommend to TFs interested in compiling a resource list of HR teams. Need to pre-empt everyone going in different directions. 10) Florida CP follow-up recommendations:
• Agreed – no FSA at CP – takes focus away from handlers that need CP • Agreed – no shadows at CP – takes focus away from handlers that need CP • Agreed – 2 days no more than 18 teams. Three days would be too much and possibly wouldn’t be supported by the allotted funding. d. Experienced victims (issue on first day) • Need experienced victims since they will be rewarding the CP dogs in training 11) Canine Awareness Videos
• Two different options. There is one that is more geared towards the TF members as to understanding how a canine team operates. There is also one that is more geared toward beginning handlers, or non-handlers, giving an overview of how the disaster dog is trained. Debra will check about putting them on her FTP server for the CSC to review. 12) Columbian International Competition (National competition? Expand Iron Dog?)
• FEMA dogs cannot participate in this competition because the U.S. is not a member of the association that is hosting the event. Should we host our own event? Sonja & Rory have expressed interest in taking the lead on designing a National Competition for our US&R canine teams. Everyone agrees that this would be a great way to promote our canine program. SWG Chair
Sub-committee Meeting Minutes
Page 5
13) Q & A’s
Q: A team cannot be evaluated by more than one team member – is this per pile or per evaluation? A; Per Pile NEXT CONFERENCE CALL

Next call: March 23 at noon EST
NEXT FACE TO FACE MEETING

January 2007, San Diego, CA

Source: http://www.disasterdog.org/pdf/csg/2006/02.24.06.pdf