CERT -> UERT: Unarmed Emergency Response Team
We were planning on attending CERT’s (Community Emergency Response Team) ‘Terrorism Awareness & Disaster Psychology’ training this evening, but have decided to forgo the event due to conflicts of interest…
To get right down to it, if you want to be an actual volunteer, “Under no circumstances shall any CERT volunteer carry a firearm/weapon of any kind”. We received clarification from the CERT Director, Warren Robinson, that this is only referring to while on-duty or while attending training sessions. We didn’t probe any deeper into the issue, but legally speaking, ‘weapon of any kind’ would have to include a Leatherman Charge multitool because it contains a knife blade. In some places, a taser is even considered a ‘weapon’.
Obviously we’re not too keen on giving up our right to carry a multitool or any other method of self defense, even if it’s just for a single three-hour class. On top of that very restrictive rule, we find that within the volunteer agreement to be a CERT member is this phrase: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Missouri against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.
How do CERT members plan on defending the Constitution against all enemies without being allowed to even carry a knife. We understand their job is to assist in emergency situations, not to be the police; but when we can walk into a Walmart being more prepared for an emergency situation than a CERT volunteer can be in the field, I’m left wondering, do we really need a CERT department? Do other organizations like the Red Cross have rules this strict, then ask their volunteers to support the Constitution? Really, are you kidding me!
We were initially just looking to gain wisdom from taking their free training classes, but after thinking about the conflicts mentioned above, we really don’t want to put ourselves in that type of environment, even for just a three hour training class.
In regards to self defense, the classroom training side of things might be different if we knew that they had armed guards posted at 833 North Boonville Avenue and that everyone entering the building had to go through a metal detector. But we don’t know that. For all we know, the building is marked No Weapons Allowed, even for non-CERT volunteers like us. For a class that lets out at 9:00 PM at night, I sure wouldn’t want to be the one walking to my car without a “weapon of any kind”!
What’s your opinion? Would you join a free, volunteer group to learn more, but who would take away some key methods of defending yourself? Anyone know what the Red Cross’s volunteer agreement says?
Comments (1)
I wouldn’t sign up for that!
Taking away your costitutional rights while making you swear loyalty to the constitution???
Sounds like a conflict of interest to me!
If they are going to ask you to defend the constitution, shouldn’t they include defensive training as part of their course?