The ARES E-Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
July 20, 2011
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
__________
In This Issue:
IN THIS ISSUE
- ARESŪ Briefs
- EmComm East: September 25, Rochester, New York
- Op-Ed: Force Multiplier, Not Last Ditch Fall-Back
- New EmComm Training Courses from ARRL
- Earthquake Exercise Opportunity: Formidable Footprint
- D-STAR Training July 30 in Central Florida
- Letters: Solutions to Self-Deployment
- Red Cross on "Spontaneous Volunteers" and Background Checks
- ARRL Emergency Radio Internet Linking System
- Training: FEMA Courses for ARESŪ
- K1CE For a Final
__________
==> ARESŪ BRIEFS
Alabama has a new ARES Web site Alabama ARES
, replacing the former page. Section
leadership is getting positive feedback and operators are registering
their information for a database. [Alabama has suffered a terrible
storm season this year, but ARES there has rallied in support of their
communities. The new Web site is superb. Patrick Scott, N2TAR, was
responsible for the hard work put into its construction - ed.]
Here is an article on a recent, major interoperability exercise in
California: The 2011 California Command Van Rally
.
Amateurs were involved, of course: " . . . it provided both a social
and academic touch point between such agencies and the diverse
community resources in our region, such as ARES/RACES ham radio
operators, graduate students working on the latest networking systems,
and private-sector and non-government organizations.". -- Thanks, Joel
Kleinman, N1BKE, Newington, Connecticut
The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN ) provides
on-the-ground, real-time weather data to the forecasters at the
National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida. The HWN gets this
weather data from Amateur Radio operators who volunteer their time to
monitor data from their calibrated home weather stations and report
that data to the HWN. To better assist the NHC, HWN Manager Kirk
Harding, K6KAR, told the ARRL that the HWN is looking for new members.
More here
. --
ARRL
Major Disaster Emergency Coordinator: ECAC Tenders Final Report and
Recommendations. The League's Emergency Communications Advisory
Committee has submitted its final report to the ARRL Board of Directors
via its Programs and Services Committee. ECAC Chairman Dale Williams,
WA8EFK, summarized the report: "In a nutshell, this is all about
developing a way to help overwhelmed local ARES groups by sending
resources from unaffected areas. Like many recent changes in the
disaster response field, this one was born of Katrina. Many hams along
the Gulf coast were preoccupied with survival and unable to function
effectively, and the only way ARES could operate was with outside
help."
After serving as Director of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio
Network (SATERN ) for more than 23 years, Major
Patrick E. McPherson, WW9E, has retired. Major Rick Shirran VE3NUZ, of
Toronto, Ontario, has been appointed as the new Director. McPherson
founded SATERN in June 1988. [I've worked with Pat for years on many
disasters, and can attest to his integrity and competence in the face
of gross adversity. Best wishes on your retirement, Pat. - ed.] More
here . -- ARRL
The National Weather Service and the ARRL have updated the MOU that has
been in place between the two organizations since 1986. Click here
for
the new document.
Last month, Daryl Stout, AE5WX, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was the
recipient of an ARRL Official Observer Good Operator Report from OO
Bill Maples, WA5BHW, for his dedication to the Arkansas Weather Watch
Net he conducts anytime bad weather arrives in the state. "Daryl spends
hours, day and night keeping everyone informed of what is coming with
bulletins from the National Weather Service. His unselfish dedication
is appreciated by all." Stout was cited specifically for his excellence
in efforts during the tornado response in the Altus/Clarksville area of
the state. - ARRL Arkansas Section News
The Nevada-Sierra (Sacramento Valley, California) EC Bill Lewis, KG6BAJ
reports that Nevada-Sierra County ARES
is still in need of radio operators for the 2011 Agony Bike Ride near
Loyalton, California. This year's Agony Bike Ride will be held from
1:00 pm Friday, July 29 to 1:00 pm Saturday, July 30. The ride is a
24-hour endurance bicycle test that could have from 50 to 100 riders
participating. Information can be found here
. Anyone who can help is asked to
please contact Bill Lewis, KG6BAJ .
The ARRL San Diego Section is looking for an ARES Training Officer.
This official will be responsible for coordinating the ARES training
program for the section. Emphasis will be on preparing to provide
emergency communications for various agencies. Standard topics shall be
covered such as personal conduct, National Incident Management System
(NIMS), message handling, basic radio fundamentals, operations, and
safety. Some specialty training will be coordinated including First
Aid/CPR, HIPAA regulations, Hospital Orientation, Driver Safety, Wild
Fire Safety Training and CERT. More info from SM Steve Early, AD6VI
.
Check out the new ARRL Connecticut Section's ARES Training page
- a nice job by SEC
Wayne Gronlund, N1CLV. This month's topic: Tactical and FCC Call signs.
Mississippi SM Malcolm Keown, W5XX, tipped us off to this story of a
chemical leak adding to a Field Day groups' exercise. Check it out here
.
==> EMCOMM EAST: SEPTEMBER 25, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
The fourth annual EmComm East emergency communications conference is
set for September 25, 2011, at the St. John Fisher College, Rochester,
New York. EmComm East is an ARRL-sanctioned Amateur Radio emergency
communications conference where Amateur Radio operators involved in
emcomm can attend training sessions on technical topics, learn from
served agencies, and interact with other emcomm operators from all
over the area.
Featured speaker this year is Mike Corey, W5MPC. Corey is the Emergency
Preparedness Manager for the ARRL. His major responsibilities include
interfacing with ARRL's national partners, emergency communications
training, support and guidance for the ARRL field organization on
emergency communications issues, organization of the ARRL HQ Emergency
Response Team, MOU compliance, and addressing the development and
implementation of an organizational disaster response plan complete
with supporting procedures and training.
Register on-line a: EmComm East . The $30
registration fee includes continental breakfast and lunch. See you in
September! -- EmComm East, September 25, 2011, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, St.
John Fisher College, Rochester, New York
==> OP-ED: FORCE MULTIPLIER, NOT LAST DITCH FALL-BACK
As someone who has been both a provider and a consumer of Amateur Radio
resources in disasters, I've never been fond of the catch phrase "when
all else fails." It may alienate the public safety telecom
professionals who should be our natural allies. Sure, some disaster
scenarios are characterized by extensive telecommunications
infrastructure damage. But modern public safety infrastructure is very
robust in many jurisdictions. When failures occur, it has been my
experience that they affect Amateur Radio infrastructure as well as
commercial and public safety infrastructure -- our repeaters tend to be
located on the same towers and rooftops as our public safety
counterparts! I've seen many instances in which Amateur Radio resources
(including my own) failed miserably to perform when needed -- and a few
in which well-meaning amateurs who had intended to be a part of the
solution became part of the problem instead. So, why the focus on
failure?
A more sophisticated view of the matter is that at the same time that
the community experiences infrastructure damage, the need for
communications channels grows exponentially, both within and among
organizations responding to the disaster. Amateur Radio can provide a
surge capability to help disaster response professionals meet the
exceptional communications demands of disasters, especially if Amateur
Radio is included in the planning and training for such events. I'd
like to see ARRL marketing us as a competent force multiplier rather
than a last-ditch fallback.
Amateur Radio has a number of characteristics that are well-suited to
this role as a provider of surge capacity. First, our assets are
embedded in the served community, decentralized, and geographically
dispersed. In many cases, we don't need to respond. We're already
there!
Second, most of our communications assets employ relatively simple
technology that is less capable, but also inherently less dependent on
infrastructure and more survivable than complex interconnected networks
that public safety agencies commonly employ nowadays. So while the
public safety pros scramble to mobilize and reconfigure their surviving
communications assets, we are doing the same with ours. And there are
more of us than there are of them.
Our technology is heavily labor-dependent, but since we volunteer our
services, the cost to served agencies is low. (Low, but not zero:
Served agencies do typically need to invest in recruitment, training,
and credentialing of volunteers, as well as pre-positioning basic
Amateur Radio equipment in key locations-- especially antennas and
feed-lines.)
By default, our channels tend to be low-bandwidth, but our supply of
such channels is almost limitless, and just one noisy channel serving a
key location at a critical time can make an enormous difference in
outcomes. With planning and the support of served agencies, there is no
limit to the creativity and sophistication of the systems we can devise
to augment their capabilities.
Last but not least, the Amateur Radio community includes many
individuals with technical skills who can rapidly reconfigure basic
communications equipment to improvise solutions to emergent needs. The
public safety telecom pros also possess these technical skills, of
course, but to the extent that we can provide interim solutions meeting
the surge in demand, we free them to focus on restoration of their
critical infrastructure.
In short, we should be offering to partner with our professional
counterparts, instead of telling their bosses and the public that we'll
be there to pick up the pieces when they fail. -- Al Taylor, KN3U
, Rockville, Maryland [See Taylor's extensive background
in "K1CE For a Final" at the end of this issue - ed.]
==> NEW EMCOMM TRAINING COURSES FROM ARRL
Introduction to Emergency Communication-
Course #: EC-001
This is a revision of the ARRL's former Emergency Communications
Basic/Level 1 course. The course is designed to provide basic knowledge
and tools for any emergency communications volunteer. The course has
six sections with 29 lesson topics. It includes required student
activities, a 35-question final assessment and is expected to take
approximately 45 hours to complete over a 9-week period. You will have
access to the course platform at any time of day during this 9-week
period so you may work according to your own schedule. You must pace
yourself to be sure you complete all the required material in the
allotted time. Prerequisites include the free mini-courses you can take
online at http://training.fema.gov/IS/NIMS.asp. ICS-100 (IS-100.b
) (Introduction to the
Incident Command System); and IS -700
(National Incident
Management System). Also recommended, but not required, are: IS-250
, Emergency Support
Function 15 (ESF15) External Affairs; and IS-288
, The Role of Voluntary
Agencies in Emergency Management.
This is a mentored course. You will be assigned to correspond with an
experienced radio amateur who will be your resource for any questions
you have about the course content. Student and Mentor Expectations are
included in the Policies for Online Courses
. To register for the
course, go to the registration page
. The cost is $50 for
members, and $85 for non-members.
Public Service and Emergency Communications Management for Radio
Amateurs- Course #: EC-016.
This course is designed to train licensed Amateur Radio operators who
will be in leadership and managerial roles organizing other volunteers
to support public service activities and communications emergencies. In
this course you will learn how radio amateurs prepare and organize to
support local community events, work in coordination with governmental
and other emergency response organizations, and deploy their services
to provide communications when needed in an emergency.
This course is made available on the ARRL Web site for all ARRL
members. It is a self-study course that you may complete at your own
pace. Prerequisites include several FEMA courses. To enter the course,
click here . For information on
enrolling for the final assessment and certificate, click here
.
==> EARTHQUAKE EXERCISE OPPORTUNITY: FORMIDABLE FOOTPRINT
A new season of Formidable Footprint
exercises has been scheduled and
neighborhood, community and faith based organizations are expected to
make plans to participate by registering. The first six Formidable
Footprint exercises had 1,237 teams from throughout the United States
and several foreign countries assessing their disaster planning and
response capabilities in a meaningful Internet based exercise
opportunity.
An earthquake Exercise is planned for July 30, 2011. Exercises have
also been scheduled for the following scenarios: Flood - Hurricane -
Pandemic - Tornado - Wildfire .
The Formidable Footprint exercise series has been developed in
accordance with Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program
(HSEEP) protocols. The objective of the exercise series is for CERTs,
Neighborhood Watch Programs, Neighborhood Associations, Community/Faith
Based Organizations, Citizen Corps, Fire Corps and others to work as a
team to become better prepared for the next disaster their community
may face.
There is no charge for participation in any of the Formidable Footprint
exercises. For additional information or to register for the upcoming
Earthquake Exercise, please access the following Web site:
www.FormidableFootprint.org -
Chris Floyd, Disaster Resistant Communities Group LLC
, Tallahassee, Florida; Sturbridge,
Massachusetts
==> D-STAR TRAINING JULY 30 IN CENTRAL FLORIDA
The Central Florida D-STAR Group is hosting a
D-STAR Academy on July 30 in the central part of Florida at Mt. Dora
(near Orlando). The academy has three different sessions designed to
give operators of every level a chance to learn more about D-STAR and
recent advances. It will give operators -- new and experienced -- more
knowledge on the operation of and new applications used with D-STAR.
One of the sessions, the "ID-1 Demonstrations," is designed for
emergency management officials to see what the new radio technology is
all about, and how it can be a tool during emergency events. The group
is inviting emergency managers, DECs, ECs, hospital administrators,
NGOs like the Red Cross and more to attend. The first part of the class
will focus on what D-STAR can do during emergencies. There will be live
connections to various agencies, the EOC in Tallahassee, and mobile
units outside in the parking areas that will also be part of the
demonstrations.
With the assistance of Northern Florida Section Manager Paul Eakin,
KJ4G, Donna Barker, WQ4M, Bob Jones, N6USP, Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC, Ray
Novak, N9JA, and others, the attendees for this class will view a wide
range of services that Amateur Radio operators can provide using D-STAR
-- in the EOC, shelters, or in the field. They will also be showing how
D-STAR worked during the recent tornado disasters in Alabama and
Georgia.
In the afternoon, the ID-1 Demonstrations session attendees will be
part of the D-STARters Class and will get a look at how the types of
radios most D-STAR operators have work in shelters and in the field.
For up-to-date information about the D-STAR Academy, ID-1
Demonstrations, and who will be attending to assist, see the D-STAR
Academy Web site. -- Ed Biederwolf, W9CHA,
Ocala, Florida
==> LETTERS: SOLUTIONS TO SELF-DEPLOYMENT
On the subject of self-deployment by amateurs in emergencies and
disasters, most of whom are untrained, since San Diego County
(California) is larger than 21 of our States, we have established a
program to take advantage of ham operators who are not able to attend
RACES or ARES meetings or training on a regular basis. In the far
eastern San Diego County area where I live, we have more than 800
square miles with only 2% of the county's three million population. As
the communications official for our volunteer fire department, I
convinced the department to give me the building's enclosed back porch
for a radio room. In addition to fire radios we have a complete set of
amateur rigs to cover 160-meters through 70-cm, all donated by local
radio amateurs. See http://campofire.org/campodisaster/index.html. Also
on this Web page you will find our communications plan and disaster
preparedness plans for the community.
Radio amateurs who are committed are a part of our Communications
Auxiliary. See http://campofire.org/staff/support.htm. Twice a year we
bring in every ham in the area who is interested for a three-hour
training session. We cover our Community Communications Plan, ICS for
radio amateurs, and handle message traffic on simplex. More than 15 of
our local hams attended. For the dedicated members of our
Communications Auxiliary we have an additional class on operating the
public service radios.
After eight years this group has been able to respond to every major
incident in the area, including two 300,000 acre fires. Since our hams
are attached to our local fire department auxiliary, they do not self
deploy and thus stay out of trouble. Since we see them on a regular
basis we know their capabilities.
Using this system we are able to extend the reach of our four local
RACES members. Since we started this program it has spread to other
rural areas of San Diego County, usually under CERT which is sponsored
by fire departments in our County. This system works great in a rural
area as all our first responders live and work in the community, our
hams train with them, we know each other personally and most
importantly they know our capabilities. In addition to the San Diego
County RACES and ARES programs our group is also coordinated with our
excellent American Red Cross and Salvation Army communication teams. --
Craig A. Williams, W6CAW , San Diego County
RACES Communications Officer, Campo Fire and Rescue,
www.craigwilliams.com/radio
==> RED CROSS ON "SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS" AND BACKGROUND CHECKS
Jim Mezey, W2FKV, SEC for the ARRL New York/Long Island Section, and
Mike Corey, W5MPC, the ARRL's Emergency Preparedness Manager, forwarded
information on the Red Cross policy on the use of spontaneous
volunteers and background checks. Spontaneous volunteers are
individuals previously unaffiliated with the Red Cross who wish to
volunteer during any level disaster operation. From the Red Cross
National Headquarters:
"Individuals, aged 18 years or older, with no prior or on-going
affiliation with the Red Cross are considered spontaneous volunteers.
All spontaneous volunteers who wish to volunteer for more than six days
on a disaster relief operation must successfully complete a Red Cross
background check. This requirement exists even if days worked are not
consecutive.
"While awaiting the results of the background check, spontaneous
volunteers must be supervised by an experienced Red Cross person.
Without a background check, spontaneous volunteers cannot work directly
with vulnerable populations, work overnight in shelter dormitory
situations, handle financials, wear Red Cross identification, drive Red
Cross vehicles and work without supervision.
"Employees and volunteers from partner agencies, organizations, or
companies working with a Red Cross unit before a disaster relief
operation are not considered spontaneous volunteers. The MOU allows
ARRL members to submit a background check which has been paid for by
the member through local law enforcement. These written results must be
provided to ARC and state that the background check meets or exceeds
Red Cross requirements. It is recommended that local radio operators
and clubs work this out with the local Red Cross people/chapter prior
to a disaster. A little local pre-disaster work will save a lot of
confusion and problems in the initial days of the disaster."
==> ARRL EMERGENCY RADIO INTERNET LINKING SYSTEM
During the 2008 Hurricane Season, ARRL HQ instituted a
Command-Control-Coordination (C3) operation to support the Sections.
One requirement was the need for ARRL HQ to establish radio links into
the affected areas. Due to a number of factors, W1AW had no capability
to reach into these areas. One tool that was used extensively during
recent tropical seasons was Echolink , when
local repeaters were so enabled. Echolink was also used to maintain
contact with the National Hurricane Center
and VoIP Hurricane Net operations. The
existence of HF nets on the 40 and 80 meter bands while providing
excellent coverage of several hundred miles in the impacted areas, did
not allow W1AW to come up on any of these frequencies if needed. Nor
did it permit monitoring of conditions to develop and maintain a higher
level of situational awareness/disaster intelligence necessary for the
Headquarters support operations.
A solution was found using the capabilities of Echolink and HF radio by
Dr. David Woolweaver, K5RAV. He had good propagation into the impacted
areas during the tropical events in the Gulf of Mexico area and
established a connection between his home HF equipment and the Echolink
program. By making this connection, W1AW was able to use a direct
Echolink connection to K5RAV's home station enabling HQ to come up on
these HF frequencies. Simple, elegant and it worked.
The need to build out this capability was clear and K5RAV began to
enlist some other stations in his state to develop this linking tool.
However, it has been an ad hoc effort with known stations, and there
was no official standing of these stations for emergency communications
with the ARRL. Additionally, while a regional capability was developed
in a part of Texas, the need was to have this capability wherever the
ARRL had a presence throughout the rest of the country.
The concept of the "Emergency Radio Internet Linking System" (ERILS)
was crafted to meet this need. ERILS would be operated under the ARRL
Emergency Preparedness and Response Program. Official ERILS Stations
would be designated after meeting specific criteria that would enable
them to blend the capabilities of radio and the Internet that would
permit emergency communications and a W1AW presence to occur. Stations
would be geographically diverse, which would provide redundant pathways
into multiple areas of the United States. While Echolink was used
successfully in 2008, other current and future software platforms could
be used with traditional RF capabilities to meet the mission needs.
More information can be found here
.
- ARRL HQ
==> TRAINING: FEMA COURSES FOR ARESŪ
Here are links to FEMA courses of critical interest to ARES operators:
ICS-100.b Introduction to Incident Command System
ICS-200.b ICS for Single Incidents and Initial Action Incidents
IS-700 NIMS: An Introduction
IS-800 National Response Framework
IS-240.a Leadership & Influence
IS-241.a Decision Making & Problem Solving
IS-250 Emergency Support Function 15 (ESF-15) External Affairs
IS-1 Emergency Manager, An Orientation to the Position
IS-288 The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management
IS-244.a Developing and Managing Volunteers
IS-120.a An Introduction to Exercises
IS-130 Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning
IS-139 Exercise Design
Many of these courses are requirements for ARES operators registering
with local emergency management/public safety agencies and more and
more ARES programs across the country. Along with the basic ARRL emcomm
course, they form the foundation for an educated, certified, trained
corps of ARES volunteers prepared to serve as assets and not
liabilities to their communities during disaster situations.
==> K1CE FOR A FINAL
When asking Al Taylor, KN3U, for his background and qualifications for
writing this month's op-ed piece, he sent back the following, a
compelling story. I thought readers would it enjoy it, too:
"In the late 70s and early 1980s, I was active in RACES/ARES. I became
EC/RO in Montgomery County, Maryland, and later SEC for Maryland/DC. My
day job during that time was designing telecom systems for air traffic
control.
You may remember an Air Florida flight that crashed into the Potomac
River seconds after takeoff in a heavy snowstorm in 1982. I was one of
a group of hams who responded on behalf of Red Cross on that sad
evening and remained on the scene for a couple of days afterward
providing shelter and canteen services for the recovery crew in
bitterly cold weather.
"In 1985, following a major earthquake in Mexico City, the US State
Dept contacted the regional EC council for assistance in communicating
with their embassy there. Knowing that most hams involved in emergency
preparedness were not-so-hot on HF, and mindful of that our primary
function as ECs was to coordinate resources, we recruited an
acquaintance who was an active contester and "big gun," Tom Abernethy,
W3TOM, who arranged for several skilled contesters to staff his
well-equipped station. Tom and his crew passed traffic with a Mexican
ham, who lived near the embassy, more or less continuously over several
days, moving to a government frequency when QRM on 20-meters became
problematic. You may know Tom in his current role as ARRL Vice Director
for the Atlantic Division.
"I'm particularly proud of my work with the National Disaster Medical
System
(NDMS). A lot of government agencies thought that they could prepare
for disasters by buying a few dozen handheld radios. They were
mystified when those radios didn't work in the field. Based on my
engineering experience, my tag line there became, "At NDMS, we don't
buy radios, we build communications systems."
"The systems approach was very successful, and a lot of other
government agencies came to us to learn what we were doing right.
Sadly, after I left, I was replaced by someone who went back to buying
radios. But that's another story.
"In 1996, my wife and I decided to adopt and start a family at a time
when many of our contemporaries were about to become grandparents. My
work at NDMS was not compatible with being a parent (I was on the road
for four months during my last year there), so I left NDMS, took a "day
job" at FDA's Medical Electronics Lab, and went back to being a RACES
volunteer at the local level, which is pretty much where things stand
today."
The ARES E-Letter is published on the third Wednesday of each month.
ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their
Member Data Page as described at
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/.
Copyright (c) 2011 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All
Rights Reserved
==============================
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