This service offering is a three-day course, designed for all State/territory, tribal, regional, and local emergency response professionals and for support personnel with a communications background. It is designed to familiarize these professionals with the role and responsibilities of a COML under the NIMS ICS and to provide hands-on exercises that reinforce the lecture materials.

Under the NIMS ICS structure, a COML is the focal point within the Communications Unit. This course provides DHS-approved and NIMS-compliant instruction to ensure that every State/territory has trained personnel capable of coordinating on-scene emergency communications during a multi-jurisdictional response or planned event. All instructors are approved by DHS and have had extensive experience both as emergency responders and as COMLs. The course is presented with facilitated lecture and hands-on exercises. It involves extensive interactive discussion and exercises; instructors work through the discussions and exercises to explain in detail the processes used to achieve communication operability, interoperability, and how to incorporate any additional communications solutions.

Prerequisites for attendance are:

• A public safety communications background with experience in field operations and public safety communications technologies

• Supervisory and personnel management skills

• Knowledge of local communications and communications systems and technologies, frequencies and spectrum, local topography, system site locations including knowledge of local, regional, and state communication plans, and contacts

• Completion of the following courses: IS-100; IS-200; IS-300; IS-700, and IS-800