Region 7 Citizens Corp Spring Training

On April 22-24, 2016 CERT, VDF, and Citizens Corps members attended the Citizens Corps training at Camp Grayling. Michigan CERT teams are typically used in crowd management, traffic control, and damage assessment. They train to prepare for various large scale and local emergencies and community events.

​The annual Spring Training is a massive training event comprised of 3 days of training at Camp Grayling where about 150 CERT and MRC teams from all over the State of Michigan were in attendance. New and prospective CERT members complete a Basic CERT course to qualify as members of the team. Advanced and more specialized training is available for those who are already team members.
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During Basic CERT Training, students learn fire protection, basic first aid, and basic communication skills. These skills enable them to become self-sustaining within the 72-hour period after a disaster by caring for their home and family before help comes and before they leave to volunteer.

Advanced CERT Training is available to anyone who has completed the Basic CERT Training. In this level, participants will engage in Search and Rescue Management training, Communications training, triage, and more. This training allows the Advanced members to respond in a more public capacity with traffic control, crowd management, Local EOCs, Search and Rescue, Animal Response, and more.
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The CERT training opportunities are offered statewide. The next upcoming training will be a hands on approach to the TEEX PER-317 Search and Rescue course on April 28-30, 2017 at Camp Grayling. The training is free, open to all disciplines (including police and fire), and provides participants with recruitment and networking opportunities as well as an invaluable experience. Registration for the next training can be found on the MI-TRAIN website.