Mission Base Staff & Communications Academy

21-23 FEBRUARY 2025 | Volk Field ANGB

Read all of the following information prior to clicking the register button below!

• Cost: $60 - includes Saturday breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch.

• The Academy is open to both senior members and cadets. Members from other wings are welcome. Personnel who need to renew ES ratings may attend as well. All participants MUST have a current General ES rating or higher. 

• Participation is limited to a “first come, first serve” basis. There will be TWO training tracks: Missions Communications and Mission Base Staff. 

• IMPORTANT NOTE: You must have all the prerequisites completed for a qualification in order to be registered. 

Training Tracks:

• MRO/MSA. In his training track, students will learn the duties and responsibilities of the Mission Radio Operator and the Mission Staff Assistant – two of the introductory ES qualifications that will prepare students to work both in an incident base as well as progress down the Ground Team and Aircrew qualification tracks. All MRO/MSA students that complete the academy will be given the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in each of the SQTR Tasks for both MRO and MSA. Note: students are not guaranteed task sign-offs and must be able to demonstrate a baseline proficiency to earn the task sign-off; additionally, students must meet all prerequisites for both MRO and MSA, which includes completion of ICUT (Introductory Communications User Training), prior to attending the academy or they will not be able to receive task sign-offs for that specialty.

              Prerequisites: current CAP member, possession of a valid CAPF101, completion of ICUT

• Communications Unit Leader (CUL) is the next training track. CUL students will learn the duties and responsibilities of the incident Communications Unit Leader, including management of an incident communications center, developing an incident communications plan, and how to manage and direct a network that allows resources spread across a wide area to effectively communicate with the incident command post. We will hold this training only if there are students who preregister for this training track. Students that complete the academy will be given the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in each of the CUL SQTR Tasks. Note: students are not guaranteed task sign-offs and must be able to demonstrate a baseline proficiency to earn the task sign-off; additionally, students must meet all prerequisites and complete Familiarization and Preparatory Training for CUL prior to attending the academy.

              Prerequisites: Qualified MRO, ICUT, completion of the following FEMA courses: IS-100, IS-200, IS-700 and IS-800

• Incident Command Staff is the final training track. Unlike previous years, where we provided specific training in a few specialty qualifications, for this academy we are focusing on how to work as an incident management team. This track is for anyone currently qualified or training in a mission base staff rating, or who are looking for a renewal. Participants will identify the top three ratings they are pursuing / renewing / interested in when registering. Formal training will begin Saturday morning with a review of the duties and responsibilities of the incident staff, with a particular focus on the coordination and communications needed for the staff to function as an effective Incident Management Team (IMT), which in turn will efficiently and expeditiously coordinate and manage the operations of their ground teams, aircrews, and any other resources tasks to complete the incident objectives. Participants will be organized into one or more incident management teams and participate in a functional exercise simulating a complex incident that Wisconsin Wing could realistically respond to. Mentors, who are also the exercise controllers, will participate to provide advice and specialized education in the tasks and responsibilities that don’t easily fit into the task lists. In the course of this functional exercise, aircrews, ground teams and other resources will be simulated, but the incident staff will develop an incident action plan, complete briefings and debriefings, and fulfill all other actions that an IMT might need to take.

              Participants should arrive at the academy with the SQTRs they would like to work on; as the exercise plan may not account for every possible task that could be demonstrated, it is up to the participant to work with the exercise staff at the start of the exercise to identify the tasks that they would like to perform under the supervision of a SET so that they can potentially receive sign-offs on everything they demonstrate.

              Prerequisites: Valid CAPF 101 indicating member is qualified or training in one or more Mission Base Staff qualifications

Training Pre-Requisites:

• Participants may only train in one ES specialty and MUST have the following by the registration deadline:
• General ES rating or higher
• Introductory Communications User Training (online & practical testing) completed
• Prerequisites completed for the ES Specialty rating selected. (See Required Prerequisites attachment)

Student Information:

Students are STRONGLY encouraged to bring a WIFI capable laptop or tablet. Otherwise, bring a blank thumb drive. Most training materials will be distributed electronically before the event. 

Unit Responsibilities:

Unit Commanders need to review and sign-off "Prerequisite" approval in Ops Quals for their members. Units are also responsible for providing/arranging for chaperones at the activity for their cadets.

Read Before Registering!

• Review the prerequisites. If you do not meet the minimum requirements your registration will be put on hold. 
• After reviewing the prerequisites, click on the registration button below.
• If you haven't registered via this system before, you will need to set up an account first. To do that, click on "New individual registration for Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol" near the bottom. If you have registered before then you can simply log in and proceeds with registering for the MBSA.
• Please select the rating you wish to register for and select an alternate rating in the event training cannot be held for your primary selection.