Volunteer Mobile’s South Alabama AmeriCorps Emergency Response Team officially started its first program year on August 15, 2007. 18 Prospects from 11 different states and one other country started the pre-service training. Pre-Service training includes three steps, first a group interview tests the groups’ ability to work together in a team setting and come to a consensus. The second step is Quest which is a 20-25 mile hike in a day and a half. You can bring anything you want except for a tent to sleep in. You are given a compass and map to find your way back and to find water drops along the way. The final pre-service training is the Pack Test. This is a 3 mile hike with a 45 lbs. back pack that must be finished in 45 minutes in order for the member to be able to respond to forest fires. After these training scenarios are accomplished than you will officially be a member of Volunteer Mobile’s South Alabama AmeriCorps Emergency Response Team. The team is trained in CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and Red Cross First Aid and CPR. The team also trains extensively in Chainsaw operation and maintenance and installing tarps on roofs. As an ERT member you will also learn how to create and maintain a VRC (Volunteer Reception Center). During this first year our team has cleared a hiking trail, helped revitalize a school, installed 6 tarps on six different roofs, helped the Red Cross and Mobile County EMA perform 2 different mock disasters, completed Camp Shelby’s Leadership Reaction Course, moved and delivered donated furniture to Katrina Victims, demoed a trailer, and responded to the Irvington Tornado and Southwest Missouri Ice Storm.
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