volunteer rescue squad politics

[pintsizedpi]

recently had an interesting experience with a buddy of mine, regarding volunteering with the isle of wight county volunteer rescue squad in virginia.

my buddy had been with the squad for over 5 years. for some reason the new chief didn't like him. My buddy is loud and not afraid to express his opinions, that could be why. anyhow, they came up with a plan to kick him out of the squad by saying that he's not pulling his minimum duty hours. my bud disputed it, said its a joke and they should check the sign-in records. well. for some reason nobody could find them and nobody would come forward and say that its untrue. so he's out. they got their wish.

so a few months later without much knowledge of this, i put in an application with the squad, listing my bud as a reference. well, what do you know, the same squad that has been crying for over a year that it needs members, sends me back a rejection letter stating that i was not CPR certified. Even though they know me, know i'm certified, i checked that i'm certified on the form, and they know i'm a police officer. .....what a joke!

is this the BS that goes on at volunteer rescue squads? if your not one of the good ol' boys i guess you get the shaft. makes me sick to my stomach. i thought this was about helping people, not egos and male soap operas.
-pint

[Birky]

Volunteer rescue squads politics can be a bitch. I used to run with a squad in western Virginia and the same type of crap went on there. If they don't want to use your services then screw then go to another squad that will. By the way Hampton has volunteers and they will train you. Virginia Beach has an all volunteer rescue squad so check them out as well.

[nyfo]

Finding a good squad is tough, it really is. It's a lot like finding the right woman, it's a strugle but MORE than worth it in the end.

My Story...The first squad I was a member of was literally filled with unintelligent individuals with the Captain leading them all down dumb @$$ road. My first six months, I didn't know any better but after those six months I began to "see the light". I realized that the majority of these so called EMT's didn't know what they were doing. When I asked about it, I got misleading BS answers so a group of us younger members began operation F this BS and made complete asses out of everyone that did wrong, not matter how much time they had served. It was fun but I needed to move on so I joined a squad (same town, different side) that turned out the be probably THE most professional BLS and Rescue agency I've ever encountered.

My Point is...why would you want to waste your time with an agency such as that? It's a waste of your time and talent. Never associate yourself with something that is inferior to you, you'll just lower yourself to those standards. Find yourself a good squad to become a member of, you'll thank youself for it soon enough.

[JimSpoor]

Originally posted by nyfo
a group of us younger members began operation F this BS and made complete asses out of everyone that did wrong

why would you want to waste your time with an agency such as that? It's a waste of your time and talent. Never associate yourself with something that is inferior to you, you'll just lower yourself to those standards.

Generally true, BUT one can also work to educate and RAISE standards. I know it is the harder path but if its your town then well worth it.

BTW: Don't discount experience. Just because someone does it different than the book doesn't make them wrong.

[nyfo]

Originally posted by JimSpoor
Generally true, BUT one can also work to educate and RAISE standards. I know it is the harder path but if its your town then well worth it.

BTW: Don't discount experience. Just because someone does it different than the book doesn't make them wrong.

Trust me, Jim, this squad couldn't be saved. The old timers were set in their ways!

Experience is nice, different methods are great experiences, but people teaching improper and straight out dangerous forms of emgergency service, it's something you need to get away from.

But I do understand what your saving and in any other situation it would be an option.