Steve Pearce, founder of the Phuket Veterans, explained that the aim is to empower young adults to complete a series of courses that will teach a variety of survival skills and broaden young volunteers’ experiences.
“Young volunteers, of ages 16-19, will be taught basic emergency medical first aid along with a host of skills, including self-reliance in the wilderness,” Steve said.
Other skills to be learned through the courses include swift water rescue, rope work and abseiling, river crossing, emergency ground signalling and radio communications, among others.
“The range of skills to be learned encourages and develops problem-solving skills, and to learn how to be an effective member of a team, all of which develops a style of thinking that will serve them well through life,” Steve explained.
“It will also be good for their resume with more and more colleges and universities, and employers, around the world now looking for students and graduates who have more than just the academic credentials,” he added.
Phuket Veterans are a group of military veterans and former emergency services professionals from around the world, and who now live, or spend most of their time on Phuket.
“They are primarily a social group, but they are committed to offering assistance to the Phuket community in times of need. They have completed several successful community projects already. Part of the Phuket Veterans group is a volunteer team named the ’Crisis Response Team’ or CRT,” Steve noted.
“The CRT would be the volunteers if Phuket was hit by another natural disaster or a major incident involving mass casualties. Revising and updating skills learned during their service, the CRT often train in medical first aid, emergency ground to air signalling, ropework, communications and self reliance in the wilderness. But you don’t need to be a veteran to join this group or attend the training,” he said.
When the tsunami hit Phuket in 2004, many expats volunteered to help and assist those who had been stricken by the wave and the damage it caused. It is difficult for the authorities such as the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to employ volunteers if their skills and ability to deal with dangerous situations are unknown.
“Phuket Veterans CRT are as much about the safety of their own team, as they are about offering assistance to others,” said Steve, who now serves as the CRT Coordinator.
“It’s an important balancing act, in which there can be no compromise when it comes to our team’s safety… Even with the best intentions, it would be disastrous if we stepped up to assist, and then become a burden or a liability to the authorities,” he said.
The CRT in Chalong on Aug 18 trained 12 more volunteers in Swift Water Rescue (SWR) techniques. SWR is a safe way to recover victims and casualties from deep, fast-flowing water. Using newly donated equipment, the six-person teams were put through their paces. Those attending were from England, Scotland, Switzerland, the US, New Zealand and Australia.
The Phuket Veterans also gain support from overseas. Aussie Wayne Scanlan, the President of the Phuket Veterans, explained, “We are incredibly lucky to have the support of overseas veterans groups such as ‘Live, Play, Work’ veterans support group from Australia. They have supported not only our Crisis Response Teams by donating thousands of dollars of safety and technical equipment, but also with our mental health support program.”
The next training session held by the CRT will be on Sept 15. If you are a military Veterans or former member of the emergency services community and are interested in becoming part of Phuket Veterans as a full member or as an associate, or if you are not a veteran but you would like to volunteer for training with the CRT, simply send an SMS to 089-5870819 and you will be called back. For more information about Phuket Veterans, PhuketVeterans.com
ENDS