Practice Pays Off

Practice Pays Off  

Week 4

Hey there! My name is Brennan McAuley from Cohort 5. I am currently down at Christiansted National Historic Site for my second summer internship. Here are just a few of the things I did during my fourth week! 

Practice pays off

            All that time practicing maneuvering the boat paid off this past week. Ranger Laurencin and I responded to a call about illegal fishing within the Park. We spotted the vessel with three men fishing off of the stern. Ranger Laurencin told me to turn on the sirens as we approached the vessel. As we got closer Laurencin commanded me to take over the wheel and “get closer” as he communicated with the three men fishing.  There was absolutely no room for error, luckily everything ran smoothly. The contact was made and Laurencin issued a citation. Discretion was used, the men did not know they were within the boundary so a decent amount of education took place.  This contact was very rewarding and impactful for me. Seeing a real life scenario unfold before my eyes motivated me to study, work, and train harder.

PC Statements

            I learned what comes after issuing a citation. A fair share of paperwork. I saw how to write a Probable Cause statement and then practiced on my own. I was taught the importance of stating facts from the contact in order to prove probable cause for each stop. This was great exposure to an important practice that I am sure I will be seeing in academy and beyond as my career in the NPS moves forward.

FEMA- Emergency Management Institute

            Although I have already completed a number of FEMA certificates, I was able to go to a training on IS-100.b.: Introduction to Incident Command System. This served as a great refresher. There were lots of interesting discussion relating to the material covered during the training that helped me better understand the Incident Command system along with what that would look like here on St. Croix along with how the protection rangers here at CHRI fit into the entire system. Overall the training was extremely informative and provided me with a chance to meet high-ranking emergency management personnel throughout the island of St. Croix.

Gun Safety and care

            This week was my turn to clean Ranger Laurencin’s Firearm. Again, Firearm safety was instructed along with many other best practices. I was able to safely clean the firearm which allowed for me to see how the gun was assembled and how the many pieces worked together. This only increased my understanding of firearms and provided me with a critical learning experience.

Good as new