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By Becky Petersen & Judy Ragain
The Department of the Interior aviation management (DOI AM) program specialists provide classroom training and a variety of hands-on operational training to bureaus and other agency partners such as the National Science Foundation (NSF). They introduce aviation policy and procedures to new users and help experienced personnel meet their currency requirements. Emphasis is placed on the necessity and benefits of safe operating practices.
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Working out of the area/regional offices are four trainers: Meg Gallagher (Atlanta), Mark Reese (Boise), Ryan Stailey (Phoenix), and Vince Welbaum (Anchorage). Their duties keep them on the road most of the year. They support operations such as:
- hover hookup (hooking a cargo load directly to the belly of a hovering helicopter)
- drone recovery (a recovery mission specialist balances on a helicopter skid over the ocean as he hooks a Navy drone missile)
- aerial ignition (igniting small fires to reduce the undergrowth and improve wildlife habitat)
These specialists, who come from other DOI bureaus and the U. S. Forest Service, have diverse and extensive backgrounds in the operational fields in which they train. Their experience includes wildland firefighting, fire dispatching, helicopter rappel, and short-haul rescue. Their level of expertise is proven as they present the DOI AM curriculum to our customers in the Lower 48, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Antarctica. During the fire season, they are often called upon for operational support on fire safety teams and, of course, training.
To support aviation-related missions and the Aviation Safety Program, the trainers provide one-stop shopping for bureaus and other customers: Identifying training needs, implementing the DOI Aviation User Training Program within their areas, establishing class schedules, organizing classroom space, distributing training materials, planning travel, recommending approvals for endorsements for personnel to perform specialized missions, and providing statistical information and curriculum requirements to the DOI AM Training Office. Their dedication and professionalism is invaluable to DOI aviation.
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