Course Review: Brushbeater's RTO courses

 It's been a spell since I posted, as 2021 has been a busy year for me so far. I have been fielding a lot of courses and developing some new ones, so check the Calendar page often for new courses.

  I wanted to drop a quick review of Brushbeater's RTO course as I had the opportunity to attend in June.

 As an instructor, I feel it is important to periodically seek out courses as a student to both continue professional development and to gain insight/perspective in teaching modalities, so when a couple of my clients suggested I join them at the Brushbeater RTO/ARTO/SIGINT course last month, I jumped at the chance. This was actually three courses held back to back to back, namely the two day RTO (Radio Telephone Operator), the ARTO (Advanced Radio Telephone Operator) and the SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) course.  The primary focus of the coursework was, of course, centered around radios; a subject that I definitely needed some refresher training on. 

  Let me start by saying that the course instructor, "NC Scout", had a smart and well developed didactic style. As a fellow instructor I can say that it is a rare quality to be able to succinctly convey your message as well as read your student's state of understanding and adjust as needed. He had a comprehensive understanding of the course material as well as the practical experience to back it up.

  The RTO/ARTO curriculum was a good presentation of coordinating TOC (Tactical Operations Center) activities, message/report formats, antenna theory, radio equipment, the radio spectrum and plenty of hands on time working the various disciplines. He also handed out a guidebook he had made with all the various important data listed for quick reference, very handy tool.

  The SIGINT course covered subjects such as; radio direction finding, one time pads, trigrams, directional antennas and scanning/finding signals. All important subjects whether employed in a defensive or offensive role.

  I think the overall format of the courses is perfect for the beginner as well as the veteran that needs a brush up on the material. I rarely hand out praise for fellow instructors, but I have to say that NC Scout does a very good job instructing and the material he is covering is extremely important. I would encourage all to make the time to attend.

His courses can be found here:  https://brushbeater.org