[forkandwait]

I wish there were a disaster militia, with something like quarterly weekend trainings, with some FEMA sponsorship but still independent. It would be fun to practice ham communications and boat rescue anyway, and a little bit of practice could have a huge impact when the shit is truly hitting the fan.

[thaumaturgy]

Aside from the resources other people mentioned, many counties across the country (and almost all of them in California and the west) have local search and rescue teams. Team member skills range from "ground pounder" to swiftwater rescue, urban search and rescue, ICS (command).

Within California, there are mutual aid requests flying between counties almost all the time, along with support from CalOES, who coordinate heavy equipment, helicopters, communications, and other resources as needed.

Good search and rescue teams train regularly. In my current county, volunteers must at a minimum complete one of two wilderness first aid courses every year, CPR for professional rescuers every other year, show up to a minimum number of searches throughout the year, and a smattering of other training. (edit: overall training in my county is available almost once a week, with major mock searches a few times a year, plus an average of about 30 call-outs per year, usually including one major multi-agency incident. The folks that show up to most of this stuff get really good really fast.)

There are a lot of folks that just show up and dabble and provide the necessary manpower for basic tasks during an incident, and some folks that take it really seriously and try to complete as much training as they can and respond to as many incidents as their day job allows for.

Unfortunately, the county-level search and rescue teams rarely venture out of state.

I have some ICS training and could have managed a dispatch role, talked some folks through CPR, juggled multiple concurrent requests, and so on -- and I have software available that would have helped a lot. But this is the first I've heard of Zello.

FEMA is making some changes to SAR resource management and I'm hopeful that there will be improved cooperation between the states in the future.

And by the way: if you're interested in this kind of stuff, and want to do something hands-on helpful in your community, I really recommend checking out your county's SAR organization. If you're not sure where to start or what to expect, feel free to send me an email and I'll reply. If you're in California, I might even know some folks from your county's team. (SAR organizations could really benefit from more tech-oriented people, too.)

[ChristianBundy]

You hit the nail on the head.

Just to add another data point, everything up in Oregon works exactly the same. Monthly meetings, monthly trainings, optional trainings for specialty teams (rope support, trail running, ATV, mountain biking, etc) every week or so, and a call-out once every 1-2 weeks.

If you're even remotely interested in emergency preparedness I highly recommend signing up with a community search and rescue organization.

[therealdrag0]

Yep. Seattle has a number of specialized groups too: http://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/sheriff/about-us/enforcement...

[neurotech1]

There is a militia, usually referred to as State Guard and several states have a Naval/Maritime regiment, including Texas[0]. Unlike the National Guard, the State Guard regiments are under the Governors command only.

There is also the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps[1], which have other public health roles, in addition to deployment during natural disasters. The PHSCC deploys with the Coast Guard for sea duty. USA Freedom Corps[2], and AmeriCorps[3] play a role in disaster response.

Team Rubicon[4] is a group of veterans that deploys in disaster response. I think they have small boat capability.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Guard#Maritime_Reg...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Public_Health_Se...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Freedom_Corps

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmeriCorps

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Rubicon

[sjmulder]

The Dutch National Reserve is independent nor civilian but comes close. These units train every so often in first aid and military skills. They are tasked with:

1) Security of evacuated areas and vital objects

2) Assisting

- during calamities such as flooding and disease

- authorities in maintaining public order

- with large military transports or exercises ('Host Nation Support')

- civilian authorities other military units during large events

3) Ceremonial activities

Notably absent: fighting wars on foreign soil. And while training attendance is required, all work is voluntary.

The National Reserve is part of the regional emergency plans so there's a real opportunity there to be part of the organised relief efforts right from the start.

[lobotryas]

You should look into whether Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is available for your area: https://www.ready.gov/community-emergency-response-team

If it's not, you may want to work on partnering with local emergency services to get one going.

[forkandwait]

Isn't that a one off class? Cool, but an organization needs maintenance to be activated well in a pinch.

[lobotryas]

Doesn't have to be. I have friends who participate in quarterly meetings for their city where they do drills for different emergencies.

[Casseres]

I was a member of Galveston County CERT and still receive their emails. There are plenty of opportunities to continue training and help participate in drills. During Hurricane Harvey (and even afterward), I received quite a few emails asking for volunteers for different things. I highly recommend taking the training and volunteering with CERT.

[knz]

> I wish there were a disaster militia

In many other countries there is Civil Defense ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_defense_by_country).

The US also appears to have a Citizen Corps (https://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps) under DHS.

[tlrobinson]

Local governments often have volunteer organizations/training, e.x. San Francisco's NERT http://sf-fire.org/neighborhood-emergency-response-team-nert

[m12k]

That's a really good idea - and think of all the good such an organization could do (in contrast to the survivalist 'anti-commie guerilla'-type militias you see today).

[gonzo]

When I lived in Vegas, the Clark county sherif had a "Jeep Posse". We did S&R. Completely volunteer.

Then LVMPD decided it was their responsibility.

[CodeCube]

So did they just tell you guys that you weren't allowed to participate?

[rfreytag]

Take a look at the Humanitarian Toolbox: http://www.htbox.org/

[zeckalpha]

It's funny you mention Ham communications. ARES is a Ham group that does what you describe: http://www.arrl.org/ares

[Waterluvian]

Even just how to behave as a passenger of an emergency is valuable training.

[froindt]

That's sort of what the national guard is for. They train a couple weeks per year and respond to situations like this.

[forkandwait]

Well, the national guard aren't civilians or local, plus they get sent to fight in wars and shit.

I am thinking more like a level below volunteer firepeople, with some regional and national coordination.

[cat199]

state guard. many states have it.

Or form your own. visit your local shooting range for details.

[vkou]

My (outsider's) impression of most private militias is that they often structure around people who are itching to gun down some bad dudes, as opposed to provide humanitarian aid.

Like, ah, these fine gentlemen. [1]

[1] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/new9wd/the-birth-of-canad...

[wavefunction]

They weren't enough unfortunately, hence the cajun navy. Some sort of civilian auxiliary corps would be awesome.

I'm thinking of more of a social graph where civilians who are going to help in these sorts of situations can be organized more efficiently. For instance, instead of having a bunch of people drive their personal cars out there, going out as a group would improve the individual's abilities to help efficiently.

[vkou]

They also get sent to wage wars of aggression overseas, when the regular army gets stretched too thin.

They will also be deployed domestically to repress public uprisings, etc.

If you want to help people, you're better off becoming a firefighter. Unfortunately, outside of some small community volunteer firefighter groups, this really isn't an option. The National Guard does not fill this gap.