Surviving Frozen Training Drills and Graduating in the Arctic Peninsula of Texas
By J. Lee Austin, MD
On one of the coldest days of our whole winter season, 15 Students, Instructors and Volunteers assembled at Fort Travis for their Final Class, Disaster Drills and Formal Graduation of the giddy new CERT’s.
In a bone biting wind that hammered the chill factor to the near-freeze degree, they performed their assigned tasks with skills gleaned from recent classroom time, 20 plus hours of valuable learning. Did I mention it was cold.
The disaster simulation scenario they were given was a “Company Picnic” that went suddenly south when a Freak Storm blew the party in the bay, injured some of the attendees and forced the frightened into the historic bunkers for shelter. Ideal for training it was, because it was darker than dark in there. Pitch colored black and then some.
The team performed first aid, extraction and retrieval of the victims, some of whom were stiff, stoic, cold and laconic mannequins with literally no personality, while others were live, good, warm human being volunteers helping out and having some frozen fun.
The students were successful in saving all victims, albeit with some gnashing of Incident Commander teeth stemming from communication misfires, or mis-coms, as nobody has called them, ever.
From my frigid perch, the mis-coms were a bit comical and turned out to be their most valuable lesson of the day … among several lessons taught by eminently capable Instructors, John Herrmann and Dick Waller. Both of these genial fellows were grateful for my presence and for helping spread the message of their wonderful cause.
Considering the geographic isolation of Bolivar from the area’s medical centers, the importance of having folks with the knowledge and ability to help others in a disaster situation really cannot be overstated. The CERT philosophy is that a trained citizen is a better-prepared citizen. Hard to argue with solid logic like that.
With funding from federal grants, the county is able to provide the course without burdening the local taxpayers further. Donations are always welcome of course.
To volunteer, learn more or sign up for the course, go to Galveston County CERT:
https://galvestontxcert.samariteam.com/Default.aspx
Let us show our great gratitude to these guys for coming over to train us. And great thanks to the generous First Baptist Church for hosting the crucial classroom portion of the course. It was quite a beauty of co-operative endeavor, a kind of neighborly love worthy of our highest praise.
And then, just like that, thanks to the steely fortitude and brave commitment of plucky, home-town friends, our beloved Bolivar was a safer place.
Well done, y’all! ~~ j ~~
“We all wish to be brave and strong in the face of disaster. We all wish to be looked up to for our endurance and efforts to help others.” ~~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Wylene
February 25, 2025 at 6:29 amWay to go guys & girls! Awesome training!