Vicksburg National Military Park (MS)
Serious Vandalism to Monuments, Cannons
On the morning of November 20th, supervisory ranger Patricia Montague
was notified of graffiti inside the Illinois monument. Montague found
that someone had painted bright red graffiti on the inside bank of names
and smelled the odor of fresh paint. The message said "Jesus Is Coming,
Repent Y'all." She then found that the monument of General Lloyd
Tilghman had been similarly vandalized, and that thirteen other cannons
and monuments had been hit. On that evening and over the next several
days, at least eight area churches and temples were vandalized.
Eyewitness accounts are greatly helping rangers in this investigation,
as the violator chooses to strike at any hour, whether in public view or
not. An investigation is underway in conjunction with local and county
authorities.
[Submitted by Patricia Montague, Supervisory Park
Ranger]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Follow-up on Damage to Lone Star Geyser
Charges have been filed against the second person involved in the
resource destruction incident at Lone Star Geyser on October 10th.
A.B.O., 19, of Battle Ground, Washington, was originally issued
violation notices and released at the time he was apprehended. On
November 19th, A.B.O. was charged via criminal complaint with aiding and
abetting Adam R. Elford with operating a vehicle off road, aiding and
abetting Elford in the injury of mineral resources, and aiding and
abetting Elford in improper food storage. The U.S. Attorney's Office is
currently reviewing the Elford and A.B.O. cases to determine if felony
charges will be filed. The two men caused considerable damage to Lone
Star Geyser and its environs after they illegally entered the area by
vehicle and drove around the geyser and surrounding meadows. Park staff
and the Montana Conservation Corps have spent more than 80 hours
mitigating the resource damage caused by the two men — raking,
filling, and de-compacting the disturbed soil and vegetation. A
reassessment of the damaged area will be completed next spring, with
revegetation and restoration efforts to continue as necessary. The U.S.
Attorney's Office plans to seek full restitution from Elford and A.B.O.
for all restoration costs on behalf of the National Park
Service.
[Submitted by Public Affairs]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
FLETC Program Update
Recent developments in FLETC-managed programs include the following:
- Fitness Standards — The validation project is making tremendous progress towards developing mandatory validated fitness standards for NPS law enforcement personnel. The US Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bureau of Land Management have joined the NPS in developing validated fitness standards for all DOI law enforcement personnel. The project is meeting established timelines and it is still expected to be completed by July, 2004. The contractor, Fitness Intervention Technologies, has completed site visits to a variety of NPS units. During these site visits, exercise physiologists met with law enforcement personnel to review the physical demands of their jobs. A "job task analysis" questionnaire has been developed and distributed to over 100 NPS law enforcement personnel for completion. Those personnel receiving the questionnaire are requested to complete and return it by the established deadlines.
- Credentials — The long-awaited new credentials, as well as additional law enforcement shields, have arrived from the contractors. The distribution of the additional shields and new credentials will be broken into two phases. In Phase 1, beginning the first week of December, field personnel will receive their additional shields. It will take the entire the entire month to complete shipping. The shields will be shipped to park senior law enforcement officials, who are asked to return the property receipts within 10 working days after receipt. Phase 2 will be the distribution of new credential cards. In order to receive new cards, LE personnel are required to have a current background check on file, or an update in process. Parks that have not already sent photographs to JJ Martin at FLETC are asked to do so immediately. Parks must submit two passport-quality color photographs (1-1/2" x 1-1/4") for each commissioned employee. The name and commission number for the employee must be on the back of each photograph. Rangers must be in uniform with long-sleeved shirt and tie. Special agents should be in business attire. Parks that submit photographs not meeting this criteria must submit new photographs, delaying the process.
- Website — The NPS Law Enforcement Training Center's website is up and running and be accessed through InsideNPS at http://inside.nps.gov/programs/fletc. You will find information on basic and advanced training programs, FLETC certified instructors, course announcements, links to other law enforcement web pages, and other items of information. Under the field training program section, there is a FAQ section on the program objectives. Feel free to send Greg Jackson an e-mail with any comments, suggestions or ideas.
Servicewide Training
Weekly Listing of Operations Training Opportunities
This calendar appears every Monday as an addendum to the Morning Report and a separate entry for InsideNPS. It is not meant to be replace the Learning Place; rather it is a quick summary of available training with links (as available) to relevant Learning Place pages. Please note:
- New and revised entries are in bold face.
- Submissions for other training courses should conform to the style used here.
- Please include the URL to the web sites where readers can obtain the requisite forms and/or find out additional information about the training course. If a URL is not specifically listed, the announcement can likely be found on the Learning Place, the NPS training page found at http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc.
- Closing dates for applications are underscored.
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January
January 26 — January 30: Law Enforcement for Managers (LEM-401), FLETC, Glynco, GA. For a copy of the announcement, go to http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc. The announcement closes on December 12th. [Wiley Golden, NPS/FLETC]
January 27 — January 29: National Emergency Medical Services Conference, San Diego, CA. This training will provide participants with the latest updates on contemporary standards of pre-hospital patient care, instruction in the application of NPS EMS policy, and the coordination of EMS programs within the parks. Specific topics to be addressed include Director's Order 51, Reference Manual 51, the NPS EMS field manual, EMS program coordination, NPS national standard protocol development, the National Registry of EMT's, EMS data management, patient care reports, the NPS white card, medical-legal issues, and a presentation by the national NPS EMS medical advisor. An EMS medical advisor meeting will preceded the training conference — it will take place on the afternoon of January 25th and all day on the 26th. Nominations must be received by December 29th. For more information, contact Randy Coffman, Chief, Emergency Services, WASO at 202-513-7093. [Randy Coffman]
February
No entries.
March
March 1 — March 5: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), FLETC, Glynco, GA. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
March 1 — March 12: Special Operations (SPECOPS-401), FLETC, Tucson, AZ. Training for personnel who are directly involved with special law enforcement operations in the National Park Service. It is intended for those who are actually engaged in such enforcement activities, including terrorism and security, counter-narcotics, and anti-poaching. Includes tactical firearms exercises and training in anti-terrorism concepts and planning, ground/aerial surveillance techniques, use of technical equipment, team building, resource violation scenarios, tactical tracking skills, physical fitness, and officer survival. For a copy of the announcement, go to http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc. The announcement closes on January 9th. [Wiley Golden, NPS/FLETC]
March 30 — April 1: Colt M-16/AR-15 Rifle/Carbine/Submachine Gun Armorer's School, Delaware Water Gap NRA, Bushkill, PA. Those attending will be provided with a complete understanding of the design theory, nomenclature, dynamics, compatibility, interchangeability, detailed disassembly, assembly, maintenance and troubleshooting of the M-16/AR-15 family of weapons and certified for three years as a model-specific Colt law enforcement armorer. The course if for LE personnel only. Cost: $375. The closing date for applications is February 29th. For additional details, contact Mike Zirwas, park ranger, at 570-588-2436 or contact him via email. [Mike Zirwas, DEWA]
April
April 19 — April 23: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Colorado Springs, CO. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
May
May 10 — May 14: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Prescott, AZ. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
May 24 — May 28: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Redmond, OR. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
June
June 7 — June 11: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Missoula, MT. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
June 14 — June 18: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Boise, ID. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.