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News Archive
January 2010
COTAG has been praised by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead MSP. COTAG has been providing volunteer support to the WRVS to help deliver Meals on Wheels to the elderly and infirm as well as rescuing dozens of motorists whose vehicles became stuck in the treacherous blizzards that swept the region. One of the vehicles pulled out of a drift was a council gritter.
Richard Lochhead MSP said:
As Scotland is in grip of the harshest winter weather conditions in decades, we are all faced with the daily challenge of
going about our usual business. Across the country this is affecting transport links and travel conditions when it is more
important than ever to keep our vital services working and deliver essential supplies to our most vulnerable citizens.
I am hugely impressed with the community off-road action group volunteers, who are giving up their time to work in extreme
and often dangerous conditions, to support the work of local emergency, healthcare and other vital services.
All these efforts by our snow heroes are helping to tackle the problems created by this unusually bad weather and keep
Scotland's vital services on the move.
Grampian Police have also commented on COTAG's role. Chief Inspector Hugh Mackie, Deputy Divisional Commander for Moray Division commented
Grampian Police work in close partnership with a vast number of voluntary groups and we recognise the vital role they
have within our communities. The recent challenges of the adverse weather conditions demonstrates the strength of these
partnerships and this was evident when we have worked along with COTAG under the auspices of the Memorandum of Understanding
we have with the group.
While they are not an emergency or rescue service, COTAG are an extremely willing and receptive group
of volunteers who work particularly well with the Police, providing us with excellent logistical support. I look forward to the
continuation of our positive relationship with COTAG and will have no hesitation calling upon them when the need arises.
COTAG-Moray, the founding COTAG team, is to change its name to 'COTAG 4x4 Response'. In parallel with this COTAG-Aberdeenshire will merge with the former Moray team. This will result in a single team initially concentrated upon the Moray and northern Aberdeenshire areas of Grampian Region.
Sue Rodwell, Team Leader of COTAG-Moray said<
This is something that has been in the planning stages for a long time and we have now reached the point where the timing is right. The Moray and Aberdeenshire teams have been growing in number and merging them under a single consolidated name makes sense. COTAG has spread from Moray where it started and now has volunteers throughout much of Aberdeenshire. It also fits to change the name to one we have actually been using unofficially for some time. COTAG 4x4 Response is a name many people now know and it also helps convey more clearly what we are about.
Tony Tipping, Team Leader of COTAG-Aberdeenshire added
This is the right thing for COTAG at exactly the right time. Numbers have been swelling and COTAG's reach has extended far south of its original operational area. It makes sense to merge the teams now.
September 2008
On Sunday 7th September 2008 COTAG 4x4 Response held its third annual exercise at its off road training area in northern Aberdeenshire. Exercise 'Fallen Eagle' was based upon the scenario of a light aircraft coming down in fog on a remote hillside while urgently carrying medical supplies and personnel to the Scottish islands. Sadly there has been one aircraft loss annually in Grampian Region over the past three years, so the basic scenario was realistic.
August 2008
COTAG-Moray 4x4 Response has achieved a critical milestone in its history, and in the history of volunteer 4x4 response organisations as a whole. On Friday the 29th of August 2008 the Moray team signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Grampian Police making it the first such organisation to achieve this in Scotland. Although other 4x4 response teams in the UK do work with the emergency services it is believed that this is the first formally documented association of its type in the UK.
After several years of development and extensive crew training COTAG-Moray 4x4 Response is now able to officially assist the emergency services and local authorities with vehicle logistics in times of need.
Grampian Police Superintendent Alan Smailes of Moray Division in Elgin said:
"We've been working with the Moray-based COTAG volunteers for almost two years to ensure they meet with the stringent requirements when working alongside the police and other services."
"They are a very skilled group with their own specialised 4x4 vehicles who will be able to assist us at times of severe weather or similar situations where we may need access to difficult terrain through snow or flood."
The signing of the MoU with Grampian Police, the senior Category 1 responder service, is a landmark event for the COTAG 4x4 Response group. It represents the culmination of several years of training and development to produce a volunteer team of a sufficient standard to assist the professional services. It is a reflection of the high quality, determination and professionalism of the COTAG-Moray volunteers.
July 2008
COTAG-Aberdeenshire is delighted to announce that its application for a Lottery grant from
Awards for All
has been successful.
The grant application was for £9,990 and has been awarded in full.
The award will be spent on core training and essential equipment for new volunteers. The training will include Advanced Driving, first stage off-road driving certification, First Aid and Child Protection. Equipment will include high visibility personal protective clothing, reflective markings for vehicles and HF/VHF radios.
A Press Release exists for this news item.
March 2008
Radio training successes
Five members of COTAG recently attended an intensive
HF/
VHF
radio training course in Keith, Moray. Three members of
COTAG-Moray plus two new members of
COTAG-Aberdeenshire were trained and coached in the operation and use of HF/VHF radio. This culminated in all five people
sitting the
RSGB Foundation Level examination, and COTAG is
pleased to report that all passed.
At the same time as the successes reported above, another member of COTAG-Aberdeenshire successfully completed a course in Maritime VHF. This is a special radio licence that allows the holder to speak to boat and ship crews, something the RSGB Foundation licence does not permit.
Vehicle-mounted HF/VHF radio is an essential tool for COTAG crew members allowing communications over terrain that would defeat
CB radio
. Although CB radio rigs are also fitted to several COTAG vehicles this is really only for convoy use and has extremely limited range.
The RSGB Foundation radio licence is a mandatory minimum requirement for all COTAG crew members. Anyone using HF/VHF radio must be licensed to do so unless operating under the supervision of a licence holder.