This section shall contain Standard Operating Procedures for operation of the Auxiliary as the term Procedures is defined in this Handbook.
Additional Procedures may be published and distributed outside this Handbook if their content is of a sensitive or restricted nature which should not be visible to the public (see the LCSA Information Security (INFOSEC) document for definitions of what content may be restricted and how it shall be marked). Specifically, Procedures which contain For Official Use Only (FOUO) content or which pertain to security processes may be restricted. In general, every effort should be made to organize content such that the majority of our procedures are publicly available for purposes of oversight and for potential reuse by other organizations. Restricted information shall be kept to the smallest possible portion which may justifiably be restricted.
As discussed in the CLA/2 class material, internal discipline in the Auxiliary uses the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) as its template. The Auxiliary is not precisely a military unit, but it is a hierarchical structure which sometimes must operate in dangerous circumstances within a chain of command. We are, however, quite a bit smaller than an organization like the US military. The State of Missouri, which is also smaller than the US military, adapts and simplifies the UCMJ for use with its national and state guard units in RsMO 40. We do the same thing in our policies with respect to Missouri Chapter 40. Some of these refinements must be made over time as we discover what works and what does not.
Among key differences between ourselves and the US military or the state/national guard units is that we are volunteers. That makes an entire array of disciplinary punishments inapplicable: we cannot readily garnish wages, fine, incarcerate volunteers, etc. If we attempted to do so--- even for a serious offense--- the volunteer may simply leave. Therefore, any offense so serious that it would merit such actions will be turned over to civil or criminal law, or, where that cannot be done, dismissal with cause may be the most serious action we can take.
For a variety of smaller offenses, a balance must be struck between too much focus on discipline which may drive volunteers away and too little which will prevent us from operating effectively in the field (and would likely drive volunteers away). A similar balance must be struck to maintain fairness: in a small organization, bulky disciplinary processes cannot work and yet, efforts must be made to ensure that discipline is fairly and evenly applied, to sort true accusations of misconduct from false ones.
This subsection of our policies will note critical departures in our process from RsMO 40.
As noted in RsMO 40.043, the accused may elect to submit themselves to discipline "before the mast", to be judged administratively by their commanding officer. The Commander's Mast will consider the accusation, hear the accused, solicit testimony of those on hand, and determine appropriate action. Also as noted in the Missouri and Federal UCMJ, administrative punishment does not preclude the possibility of formal process and punishment at a later date or administrative discharge by the Sheriff's Office, but willingness to submit to administrative discipline and completion of punishment imposed shall be taken into consideration in any later formal action.
Temporary Suspension: For (alleged) violations which prejudice the honor of the service, or which potentially impugn the trust of the volunteer such that they may not be permitted to perform their duties until the matter is resolved, the volunteer may, at the discretion of the commanding officer (or the Sheriff), be temporarily suspended until this administrative hearing can be held and a decision reached. This delay shall not normally be longer than the time to the next regularly scheduled meeting. Such suspension may be considered as time served if suspension is later imposed as punishment.
Ideally, most Auxiliary disciplinary matters which rise or may rise above admonition or reprimand should be handled before the mast, with court-martials only being convened for rare complicated issues where fair action is not clear or where culpability cannot readily be determined.
40.280. Contemptuous words, used against certain officials — court-martial. — Any person subject to sections 40.005 to 40.490 who uses contemptuous words against the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Congress, Secretary of Defense, or a secretary of a department, the governor of the state of Missouri, the Missouri general assembly or the adjutant general of the state of Missouri, the governor or the legislature of any state, territory or other possession of the United States in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
In the Sheriff's Auxiliary, this offense also includes conduct against the County Sheriff & County Coroner, the County Commission, and County department heads as they are effectively our executive, legislature, and cabinet secretaries, respectively.
Shall Include conduct by officers and enlisted: In federal service, this offense is limited to commissioned officers. As above, Missouri extends it to "all persons...". The Auxiliary follows Missouri in this respect.
Shall not cover mere political conduct: By tradition and precedent, this offense does not extend to mere political conduct or political disagreement, even contentious political debate. The offense requires contempt to be expressed to or of the person of the official and their authority, not a mere disagreement over policy. Note that political speech in uniform or otherwise representing the Auxiliary or the Sheriff's Office, not directly related to our duties or the needs of the service, may still be inappropriate or against policy even when exempted from this offense.
Against other officials: Contemptuous actions toward other or lesser officials would then be covered under what is referred to as the "General Article" offense: "40.410. Neglecting or prejudicing discipline of the military — bringing discredit to state military services..." or, if the conduct is serious enough, "40.395. Provocative gestures or words, constituting a threat of violence...". The offense of "40.408 Officer's conduct, unbecoming to an officer and a gentleman..." is similar to and more serious than 40.410 but applies only to commissioned officers.
This offense, depending on the seriousness of the specific act, may be punishable by any means within the power of the Auxiliary, including dishonorable discharge.
No JAG: One of the key differences between ourselves and any larger military or para-military organization is that we do not have any equivalent of a JAG (Judge Advocate General) Office, no dedicated corps of attorneys to act as judges or representatives. Almost all discipline must therefore occur within the chain-of-command, formal process must be simplified, and cannot take volunteers too long away from their regular duties. A year-long General Courts Martial is simply not an option.
Appointed Counsel: As a matter of fairness, a volunteer undergoing a disciplinary process should have access to counsel to advocate for them and help them understand that process. Such counsel shall consist of an active or retired officer or NCO. However, the restrictions in RsMo 40.098 apply that such an advocate may not be involved in prosecution, witness for the prosecution, etc. in the same matter. In a small unit, there may be no such officer or NCO available. In that event, the accused and command staff shall jointly request the assistance of an eminent member of the community to advocate for the accused. Command staff shall cooperate fully with the advocate to provide information needed for a proper defense and to come to agreement on fair procedures.
Attorney Not Required: The requirement in 40.098 that an appointed advocate be an attorney and specially qualified for the task shall not applied. A volunteer may always obtain their own attorney to advise or represent them at their own expense.
There shall be no distinction between Special and General Court-Martials. If a volunteer objects to trial by Summary Court-Martial, the matter shall be handled by a court-martial consisting of a judge and three or more jurists (more jurists may be used if command-staff can do so within pragmatic constraints). Regardless of how many jurists present when convened, three shall be the minimum number for purposes of RsMO 40.105.
In the UCMJ, the Commander-In-Chief (President, or, at state level, Governor) may dismiss any subordinate with cause at any time (https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=40.010&bid=1070&hl=). In our service, the Commander-In-Chief is the county Sheriff. A dismissal with cause may be appealed to a court-martial proceeding, but the court-martial is only empowered to consider converting the dismissal-with-cause to an administrative discharge (at least as far as the Auxiliary service record of the volunteer is concerned; an Auxiliary court-martial has no power over the Sheriff's Office to amend or change its policies). In either case, the volunteer leaves the service and may only be restored by an act of the Sheriff. An administrative discharge (with or without stated cause) by the county Sheriff may not be appealed.
In the Sheriff's Auxiliary, dismissal with cause or administrative discharge may be considered by any court-martial, regardless of size or type and the volunteer may be indefinitely suspended until the decision is reached.
Intoxicating alcoholic beverages or spiritous liquors (alcoholic beverages) may not be brought into LCSA encampments and facilities nor consumed onsite except under the following exceptions:
In both cases, such alcoholic beverages shall be stored in a locked container under control of the SMO.
Alcoholic beverages required for religious purposes must be retrieved from the SMO, the SMO must understand and approve the use, and the SMO must approve participants for continued duty, with remaining beverage being returned to the locked container.
Alcoholic beverages or spirits being administered for medicinal purposes are no different from administration of any medication which may cause intoxication, decreased motor function, or impaired cognitive function; specifically, if there is a danger of intoxication, the volunteer shall be removed from active duty until cleared by a medical officer or medical professional with appropriate authority.
A volunteer shall not report for duty intoxicated and shall make every effort to not be intoxicated when called for scheduled duty. If a volunteer who has elsewhere consumed alcohol (or any intoxicating substance) reports for emergency duty, they shall voluntarily disclose this fact and be cleared for duty by appropriate authority if there is no apparent intoxication, impairment, or danger posed by the volunteer to themselves or others.
For these purposes, "intoxicating alcoholic beverages or spiritous liquors" shall specifically not include root beers, small beers, small ales (e.g. "ginger ale"), beverages such as sekanjabin or posca made from diluted sour wine or vinegar, nor any acid-rather-than-alcohol-forming fermented beverage ("soft drink") which does not legally qualify as a "hard" beverage (>0.5% alcohol by volume). Likewise, medicinal or flavoring extracts/concentrates intended for use in highly diluted form do not fall under this definition, although 1) abuse of such items shall still constitute an offense and 2) some effort shall be made to secure these items when/where abuse is a problem. Finally, denatured alcoholic products intended for fuel, disinfectant, reagent or other purposes do not fall under this definition and need not be secured for these purposes.
During deployment, it is often necessary to manage a number of pad locks, locked boxes or cabinets, keys to vehicles, keys to facilities and so forth. If not handled properly, it can quickly become a confused mess, things get lost or security is compromised. It can be particularly embarrasing to the organization to lose keys to vehicles or facilities entrusted to us by the community or the Sheriff's Office. The following procedures shall be followed to avoid these issues.
The Auxiliary has a small key safe for use on deployment which shall be mounted to the inside of a cabinet or chest. One key shall be held by the company (or site) Quartermaster and the other by a designated individual, normally the Chief of the Watch. The designated holders of the key safe key may be referred to as "the Keys". At a watch change, the key is officially relinquished to its next holder.
All keys for Auxiliary property not in active use and all spare copies of keys which are in active use shall be stored in the key safe and given numbered tags. When a key is needed, it is signed out and initialed by one of the Keys.
When keys are received and held by Auxiliary personnel, they are to be checked in to the key safe, recording any identifying marks, and information on who is authorized to use or possess the key. For flat keys, it may be convenient to use a rubbing to record its shape and any engraved numbers. One of the Keys fills out a receipt in triplicate: one copy for file, one for the individual checking it in, and one to the client. They then may be checked out as usual. When it is time for the key to be returned, the client's receipt is marked with the time, signed, and filed.
Combinations and passwords entrusted to the Auxiliary may also be written down and stored in the key safe. Retaining a copy of a master password so that it may be passed on if the individual who originally created it is not available is referred to as key escrow. It is critical, for instance, to escrow administrative passwords for Auxiliary accounts in case the authorized holder is injured. It is only necessary to escrow the high-level passwords which have the authority to change or reset lower-level passwords (i.e. the administrative or super-user password of a machine can be used to reset the passwords for user accounts). Similarly, it if a group of passwords are to be stored in a password manager (such as Apple's Key Safe of Gnome's desktop utility) then the password manager must be backed up and only the top-level password must be escrowed in the key safe.
Passwords to be written down in this manner must be recorded in logical groups, labelled with a code, and sealed in an envelope. The code identifying the password to be used must then be labelled prominently on the machine it belongs to. A number after the code designates the version of the password in use. An example may make this clear:
LCSA-WIFI 1 : Oscysbtdel?
LCSA-WIFI 2 : Trrg,tbbia
LCSA-Backup 1: GJklump836
LCSA-Admin 2 : %Plump7&illoccorb
LCSA-Admin 3 : DERF45Ford)!
Safe (Sentry 579824N) 1: 23R-18L-5R
The LCSA-WIFI password has been changed once and the LCSA-Admin password twice. The old versions are stored for a time in case it has not been updated in all places (I have turned on an old machine in many offices where no one remembers what the password was the last time it was used...).
Whenever a password/combo must be given out, such as to a relief worker from another organization, change it as soon as it is no longer in use or at the end of the deployment. Do not give out a password or combination over a radio or any other insecure channel as everyone will then have it!
Passwords for top-level Auxiliary accounts (such as to our hosting provider) which are not needed on site may be escrowed with the Chief of Staff and in the Sheriff's safe.
When writing out a password or combination, use a loose sheet of paper or flip the top sheet of a pad so that you are writing directly on a hard surface. Otherwise you will leave page impressions which can easily be recovered and used. Destroy the paper when finished or put it in the burn bag.
This section defines the procedure for a volunteer who is involved in a Use of Force incident on or off duty, in or out of uniform. The definition of Use of Force includes any altercation which results or is likely to result in civil or criminal legal action and specifically includes:
This procedure is printed on the inside back cover of the Auxiliary's ICS 214 - Activity Log booklets. It is recommended that volunteers have a copy of this booklet in their go-kits, purse, glove compartment or other location where it may be readily accessed after an on or off-duty incident. More copies of this booklet may be requested from the LCSA Quartermaster.
Procedure
If involved in a Use of Force incident, notify your superior in chain-of-command ASAP. If off duty, such as a defensive shooting, do the following:
Responding officer may take weapons involved for examination. You should be able to get a receipt. The LCSA/LCSO will attempt to send an officer SAP to advise you on the review process and take a statement. You may request the services of a Chaplain at any time. If only given '1 phone call' contact your attorney and have them contact LCSO. If you don't have one, contact your superior in the LCSA or the Sheriff to inform them that you need one.
Rationale
We include "physical restraint" in our list of triggers for incident review of a volunteer's actions. Physical restraint incident to arrest is usually not a trigger for Use of Force Review for Law Enforcement Officers, but, as we are not typically authorized to make arrests or restrain suspects, such actions should trigger review for non-Peace Officer volunteers.
Related Procedures
Related Guidelines
This section defines the procedure for calibrating Soft Airgun/Airsoft devices at training events and exercises.
A standard chronograph designed for Airsoft or Airsoft/Paintball use shall be used to calibrate all airsoft devices brought into the event.
Each weapon brought for inspection shall either have the internal magazine or one external magazine left empty for inspection unless it is of a type such that the LCSA has compatible spare standard magazines dedicated to inspection.
Inspection of protective equipment must occur first, and all personnel within the inspection area must wear their eye and face protection.
When the participant approaches the inspection table, they shall have the firearm safetied, and holstered or slung and pointed in a safe direction. No magazine shall be loaded and a barrel blocking device shall be visibly in place on any long arms. Inspector shall visibly inspect the Airsoft device for signs of damage or unsafe condition. If the weapon appears to be unsafe, the inspector may, by themselves or on consultation with other inspectors, refuse to calibrate a device and deny it entry to the event.
During inspection:
Inspector shall look for any signs of unsafe operation during inspection. If the inspector believes that the Airsoft device or the participant will not operate safely, the inspector may, by themselves or on consultation with another inspector, deny them entry to the event.
Two inspectors may work in pairs to check and calibrate armory Airsoft devices belonging to the LCSA, the Sheriff's Office, or other participating agency. Airsoft devices shall not be inspected by a single individual.
The rules of an event shall designate inspection markings for Airsoft devices. Generally, these will consist of color-code zip-ties around the barrel of the device which signify that the device has passed inspection and any range/standoff limitations based on the velocity of the BBs fired. The colors of these zip-ties shall be varied on a regular basis in order to readily determine whether a device has been inspected for that event. Inspections shall occur at each separate event or once for a related group of events (e.g. several related exercises during a one-week period). A safety officer may request and require a device to be reinspected at any time based on any suspicion of unsafe or potentially unsafe operation.
By default, Airsoft devices will be separated into those firing 0.2g BBs less than or equal to 350 fps and those firing 0.2g BBs at more than 350 fps, the latter requiring a stand-off of 15 feet or better to engage. Unless the event rules specify otherwise, a device which chronographs at less than or equal to 350 fps with 0.2g BBs may be used with BBs of a lighter weight even though this may increase the velocity of the BBs fired (as the energy of the BBs will still be limited). In other words, a device which chronographs at 220 fps with 0.2g BBs but will be used with 0.12g BBs at 400 fps will be marked in the <=350 fps category.
Placing an inspection marker on any device without authorization or willfully bypassing any safety inspection shall be a disciplinary offense in the Sheriff's Auxiliary.
In exercises using soft airguns (Airsoft), all participants (players, role players, exercise staff) within the marked safety zone shall have protective gear in place while the scenario is running. Before the scenario begins, all Airsoft devices carried shall have safeties on and shall be stowed or holstered. Long arms may be aimed in a safe direction with safeties activated and Barrel Blocking Devices (BBDs, barrel socks) in place and visible.
Starting the Scenario
A warning shall be given before action is initiated. Unless otherwise specified in the scenario rules, a whistle, air-horn, or similar device shall be sounded once an announcement made to don protective gear ("Masks On."). Safety officers shall verify that safety equipment has been donned within their zones of responsibility. On approval of safety officers, a second signal shall be given and the announcement shall be made to "Make ready". At this point, Barrel Blocking Devices may be removed and handguns may be unholstered or unstowed. Finally, the signal shall be given and the announcement made to "Run scenario".
Stopping the Scenario
Once the scenario is running, masks and safety equipment shall not be removed until it is halted. Each exercise shall have a defined signal to halt the action which shall be clearly conveyed in pre-exercise briefing. Unless defined otherwise, participants shall halt all action for three short blasts of the signalling device, the call of "Stop scenario!", or "HOLD!". A safety officer may give this signal at any time for any reason and shall repeat it until the desired effect is obtained. All participants shall respond immediately and should repeat the signal to ensure that everyone receives it. Participants may also call for a stop to the action if they see any dangerous condition which requires it.
When the signal to halt the action is given, all participants shall halt scenario activities and take a safe position. All participants with Airsoft devices shall activate safeties, point them in a safe position (generally the low carry position), and look to exercise staff for instructions. Once compliance with the halt is obtained, further action may be taken by exercise staff, such as ordering in real-world medical responders to deal with an injury. No unmasked individuals may enter the safety zone until the action is successfully halted. Participants shall not remove their safety gear unless and until instructed.
After action is halted, a further instruction may be given for participants to "Stand down." Upon this signal, all participants shall holster or stow handguns and shall place visible Barrel Blocking Devices on long-arms. The order to "Stand down" shall be relayed by exercise participants as necessary to ensure that it is heard by all. If safe and practical, participants should take a knee or otherwise assume a position where they can stay in place for a period of time and safety officers may see over them.
If appropriate, action may be restarted after a halt or stand-down by repeating the "Make ready" and "Run scenario" signals after any staff who have entered without safety gear leave the safety zone.
Once compliance with the stand-down order has been obtained and verified, the order may be given for "Masks off". Once the masks off order has been given, the entire three-step process must be repeated to ensure that safety gear has been donned before action may be restarted.
Summary of Steps
This section defines required safety equipment for Soft Airgun/Airsoft training and exercises.
Scope
All personnel participating in the exercise in either the Hot or Warm zones (the "safety zone") shall meet minimum requirements for safety equipment while the scenario is running. This includes participants using simulated weapons, role players, evaluators, observers, and safety officers. The safety zone shall be clearly marked with signage saying, for example, "Safety Masks Only Beyond This Point". Caution tape, cones, or other markers shall be used to clearly delimit the area of the exercise. It shall be the responsibility of safety officers and observers to monitor the boundaries and call a halt to the scenario if any individual without safety equipment enters or any individual within the zone removes their equipment while the exercise is in progress.
These requirements apply to equipment provided by the Auxiliary, equipment provided by the organization hosting an exercise, and any equipment provided by volunteers. Any equipment not meeting these procedures, subject to exceptions detailed below, shall not be used in training or exercise.
Personnel without safety equipment (such as medical responders for real-world injury) shall not enter the safety zone unless a halt has been called to the scenario and all participants have gone to their stand-down positions (as described elsewhere in these SOPs/SOGs).
Conflicts
Where these procedures conflict with the rules of a particular scenario, for instance, where the exercise is being conducted by an organization other than the Sheriff's Auxiliary, safety equipment of LCSA volunteers shall meet the more stringent of the two standards. In other words, if the LCSA standard requires mouth protection and the organization responsible for the exercise does not, volunteers shall wear mouth protection. If the our safety requirements conflict with the requirements of the exercise scenario, the designated LCSA safety officer shall make a determination as to the rules which shall be followed for that scenario. If the safety officer declines to make such an exception, then LCSA volunteers shall not participate in the exercise scenario.
Exceptions
As noted above, the designated LCSA Safety Officer for an exercise may approve one-time exceptions to these safety rules necessary to the conduct of the exercise due to conflict between the rules of different organizations. The Safety Officer, with prior-approval of command staff, may also give written approval to equipment for experimental or exploratory use. For example, a safety officer may designate a specific mask as acceptable for experimental use in a particular exercise or exercises. The safety officer may also designate any equipment as not acceptable for a specific event, even if it would normally be allowed according to these procedures. It is expected that such exceptions will be common as the SOPs are being developed and refined.
The Auxiliary shall maintain a list of any equipment which has been discovered to be unsafe or not meet standards even though sold for Airsoft/Paintball use. Any equipment so listed shall not be permitted at training/exercise events.
Minimum Requirements
All personnel inside the safety zone during an active scenario shall have:
Volunteers are to be encouraged to own their own safety equipment which they know fits them, which does not interfere with their ability to see, hear, and otherwise safely participate. The Sheriff's Office and Auxiliary will maintain stores of safety equipment, but these stores are primarily intended to be used as spares in case of loss or failure.
The following are recommended and may be required for exercise participants in designated scenarios:
Inspection Requirement
All participants shall be checked to restrict prohibited items, particularly live firearms or other live weapons, from entering the exercise area. Participants shall be checked every time they enter the field, even if they leave and return after the event has started. This check should be conducted be in three stages:
The checks are to discover equipment accidentally carried into the exercise area, not weapons deliberately concealed, so a frisk should not be conducted. Rather, the checks are a thorough walk-through to remind the participant of or discover anything they may have on their person. An example dialog and procedure is provided on pp 66 of "Force-On-Force Police Training Using Airsoft" by Luis E. Martinez, Outskirts Press, Inc., 2008 and should be used as a basis for checklists and exercise materials. A particular danger is that of a participant who leaves the exercise area to go to lunch, replaces an airsoft weapon with their service weapon, and returns to the exercise area. Exercise participants have been shot in precisely those circumstances, thus necessitating a check on every entry.
All volunteers shall have their clothing and safety equipment inspected at exercise check-in and prior to entering the safety-zone. Safety equipment shall be visually inspected by designated safety personnel for signs of wear or degradation, including the sufficiency of straps. The volunteer shall don the safety equipment on request and shall permit safety personnel to verify proper fit. Equipment passing inspection shall be marked or tagged as designated for the specific training or exercise. Equipment not so tagged shall be denied entry to the field. A safety officer or their subordinate may call a halt to the scenario at any time in order to reinspect any safety gear. Any exercise participant may call a halt to a scenario at any time in order to inform a safety officer of equipment failure or impending failure, for example, upon seeing a loose mask.