News : FEMA-Corps: Class 19 members arrive at NCCC campus in Vinton

Above: The sign welcoming FEMA-Corps members; below a new NCCC member tries on overalls.

A guy from New Jersey stood next to a guy from San Francisco, trying on coveralls.

For both, it was their first time in Iowa.

“Iowa is really flat, but it’s nice,” said Alex London of San Francisco.

He and Scott Fisher of New Jersey stood side-by-side, stretching their arms out and squatting to see how well the coveralls fit.

This scene repeated itself countless times on Tuesday as 240 more members arrived to begin their AmeriCorps NCCC training. The members also tried on rain gear and other uniform accessories they will be using throughout the country.

This group however, has a different name: FEMA-Corps. Its members will probably eventually be seen in differently-colored shirts, mostly likely blue says NCCC Campus Director Dan Milnes.

The FEMA-Corps members will be part of the NCCC program, and take all the same training and follow the same rules as the other NCCC members. But they will only be assigned to areas that have been declared federal disaster areas.

While most NCCC teams are assigned to the states surrounding Iowa, the FEMA-Corps members could be sent to any of the 50 states where a federal emergency has been declared. They will also travel to Alabama at the end of their NCCC training for “FEMA-specific” training said Milnes.

The official induction of the first FEMA-Corps members in Vinton takes place Sept. 28. Milnes said this event will be bigger than most inductions with several program leaders from Washington, D.C., expected to attend. Iowa’s political leaders have also been invited, said Milnes.

The addition of the FEMA-Corps unit (Class XIX) also led to an increase in NCCC staff members; Milnes said there are 28 full-time NCCC employees at the IBSSS campus in Vinton, with one more counselor position to be filled.