Carpenter began, “从训练时间中获得最大影响至关重要，在这些经济时期，减少“绒毛”课程比以往任何时候都更重要。MDFR has instituted a Skills and Drills component to ensure that new officers are prepared and confident to supervise and train personnel in the bread-and-butter hands-on skills of company operations. The program will address some of the hurdles involved in implementing such a program and the solutions to overcome them. This workshop is a must for trainers, administrators, and training chiefs interested in breathing a new level of enthusiasm into their ODP.”
Carpenter believed that a big mistake that full-time officers and instructors make is “unrealistic objectives.” He felt that this was “the death-knell, the nail in the coffin, for most training officers. Not everyone belongs in that role.”
Carpenter还讨论了演习开发的“四个P”：计划，准备，现在和运动后的批评，其中涵盖了以下内容：
- 培训计划
- 可实现的目标
- Company vs. multicompany drills
- Excuses heard at unsuccessful drills
- 时间限制
- Logistics
Carpenter stated, “MDFR’s sheer size gives us considerable resources to provide this level of training. Many of the attendees tend to be from smaller agencies and promote fewer officers during the year. This session will promote discussion during the workshop between similarly sized departments to find solutions to implementing such a program.”
Included in the class were several videos which covered a miriad of topics such as “attention blindness.”
He concluded, “We discussed needs assessments, formulating curriculum, and planning steps for the implementation of Hands-On Skills and Drills for Officer Development. In these tough economic times, the fire service is asked to do more with less. To that end, getting the most ‘bang for the buck’ in training by addressing essential service skills is paramount. We must eliminate ‘fluff’ and prepare our officers to deliver the highest level of competence in emergency response. This program will prepare officers to do just that.”
