The ARES E-Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************

October 20, 2011

Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE 

In This Issue:

IN THIS ISSUE

- ARRL Briefs White House Staff on Amateur Radio's Capabilities During
Emergencies
- California Hospital ARES Group Poster Accepted at Disaster Conference
- ARES/NTS Study: ECAC Submits Interim Report
- After Action Reports
- ARES® Docket
- ARRL Partners' Roundup
- Letters
- Red Cross Closes Historic Arlington, Virginia Office
- ARRL Invites Nominations for 2011 International Humanitarian Award
- Nominations Open for Hart Award
- Why The FEMA Courses?
- ITU: What is the Tampere Convention?
- Tips: QuakeNet QSO 3.11
- K1CE For a Final

______

==> ARRL BRIEFS WHITE HOUSE STAFF ON AMATEUR RADIO'S CAPABILITIES
DURING EMERGENCIES

On September 12, at the invitation of White House Cybersecurity
Coordinator Howard A. Schmidt, W7HAS, the ARRL briefed several members
of the National Security Staff on the capabilities of the Amateur Radio
Service to communicate in emergencies. "The White House is looking for
ways that the great work of Amateur Radio operators can continue to
support emergencies in the future with particular attention to
increased use and dependency on Internet-based technologies," Schmidt
said. The ARRL presentation, conducted by Emergency Preparedness
Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC -- along with President Kay Craigie, N3KN,
and Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ -- focused on Amateur
Radio's current and evolving capabilities to provide Internet messaging
connectivity. - ARRL Letter

==> CALIFORNIA HOSPITAL ARES GROUP POSTER ACCEPTED AT DISASTER
CONFERENCE

The Hospital Disaster Support Communications System of Orange County,
California (HDSCS) was honored to have its poster presentation,
"Volunteer Amateur Radio Communications in Hospital Emergencies: A
Proven Resource," accepted and presented at the recent California
Hospital Association Disaster Planning Conference

in Sacramento. Click here
 for more information on
the presentation by HDSCS member and Certified Hospital Communicator
Dave West, KI6EPI. West is also the Disaster Coordinator for College
Hospital in Costa Mesa, California and has been involved with two other
hospitals over the 31 years of HDSCS supporting facilities in Orange
County. He was a major supporter of HDSCS before ever becoming an
Amateur Radio operator in 2006. -- April Moell, WA6OPS
, ARES District Emergency Coordinator, Hospital
Disaster Support Communications System , Orange County,
California

==> ARES/NTS STUDY: ECAC SUBMITS INTERIM REPORT

ARES and the National Traffic System exist as the ARRL's implementation
of the basic principle stated in 97.1(a), "Recognition and enhancement
of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary
non-commercial communication service, particularly with respect to
providing emergency communications." The Emergency Communications
Advisory Committee (ECAC) was tasked by the ARRL Board of Directors'
Programs and Services Committee to recommend improvements to ARES® and
NTS so that the amateur service can better serve the public in
providing emergency communications. Assigned study topics include, but
are not limited to, ARES and NTS objectives and organizational
structures; integration between ARES and NTS; training, certification,
and credentialing; and relationships with served agencies.

ECAC Chairman Dale Williams, WA8EFK, has filed an interim progress
report with the PSC, and reported that the panel of ECAC members from
across the country "began this challenging assignment immediately.
Knowing that both ARES and NTS operations across the country are based
in strong legacies, proven methodologies and expertise, our initial
effort was to capture field opinions of the current status of both
organizations." "Our immediate goal is to determine how ARES and NTS
are viewed by those directly involved," Williams said. "We need to
understand the good features of both groups, where we are in terms of
capabilities, where we should be, what shortcomings we face, and how we
can best make any needed changes."

Williams reported that over a period of 60 days, "we prepared survey
questions to be introduced to the leadership of both groups. Using two
independent teams, we developed an extensive series of questions for
the field organization. These were evaluated and combined to form the
basis of our planned surveys. To minimize the potential for rumor and
innuendo to negatively affect the surveys, we sent advanced copies of
both to the NTS leadership for their review and to Section Managers for
forwarding to their individual SECs for their viewing. This also
afforded the opportunity for the field leadership to offer input and
suggestions about the prepared questions and their format. We accepted
the field replies and incorporated several changes to the surveys."

Williams found that "our initial information effort outlined above
resulted in early feedback that indicates there may be a need for major
paradigm shifts in expectations, organizational structures and how we
train the general ham population for handling traffic in an emergency.
We know initially that both ARES and NTS are wildly different across
the country. Some units function very well, some are quite
dysfunctional. We intend to discover why the differences exist and how
the Best Practices of the successful groups can be translated into
successes for problem groups."

The final version of the survey forms was accepted by the ECAC at a
September 14 conference call and the ECAC is now preparing to release
the surveys to the field, NTS Managers, and SM/SECs.

Williams concluded that "plans call for a thorough review of the
reported data, the building of a report matrix, completion of any
necessary follow-up work and then the results analysis. Our next report
should contain the analysis and an outline of the project projections."

It must be emphasized that nothing has been decided and only
information is being sought at this time by the ECAC, which exists
solely as an advisory committee to make recommendations to the League's
Board of Directors.

What is the NTS?

The National Traffic System (NTS) is a structure that allows for rapid
movement of message traffic from origin to destination and training
amateur operators to handle written traffic and participate in directed
nets. These two objectives are the underlying foundations of the NTS.
It's a system that operates daily, even continuously with advanced
digital links.

The NTS consists of operators who usually participate for one or two
periods a week, and some who are active daily. The National Traffic
System is an organized effort to handle traffic in accordance with a
plan that is easily understood, and employs modern methods of network
traffic handling.

NTS is not intended as a deterrent or competition for the many
independently-organized traffic networks. When necessitated by overload
or lack of outlet for traffic, the facilities of such networks can
function as alternate traffic routings where this is indicated in the
best interest of efficient message relay and/or delivery.

One of the most important features of NTS is the system concept. No NTS
net is an independent entity that can conduct its activities without
concern for or consideration of other NTS nets. Each net performs its
function and only its function in the overall organization. If nets
fail to perform their functions or perform functions intended for other
nets, the overall system may be adversely affected. Nets may sometimes
find it necessary to adopt temporary measures to ensure the movement of
traffic, however. - ARRL Public Service Communications Manual

The best way to get to know the National Traffic System is to hook up
with a local NTS traffic net in your area where messages (Radiograms)
are entered and others are accepted for delivery by mail or phone.
Local clubs, repeater groups, and ARES operators are all good sources
for local info on NTS activity. -- K1CE

==> AFTER ACTION REPORTS

No communication effort is complete until an After Action Review has
been conducted and the After Action Report drafted. The AAR is the best
way for us to conduct a candid self-assessment of our performance
during an event. The U.S. Agency for International Development has
published an excellent guide on after action reviews. That guide offers
this definition of an AAR: "An after-action review (AAR) is a
professional discussion of an event, that focuses on performance
standards and enables development professionals and colleagues with
similar or shared interests to discover for themselves what happened,
why it happened, and how to sustain strengths and improve on
weaknesses. The AAR tool affords leaders, staff, and partners an
opportunity to gain maximum benefit from every program, activity, or
task."

It goes on to say that an AAR provides:

• Candid insights into specific strengths and weaknesses from various
perspectives

• Feedback and insight critical to improved performance

• Details often lacking in evaluation reports alone

The guide also describes the AAR as "...the basis for learning from our
successes and failures. A good manager or leader does not learn in a
vacuum: the people involved in an activity--those closest to it--are
the ones best poised to identify the learning it offers. No one,
regardless of how skilled or experienced they are, will see as much as
those who actually carry out the events, program, or activity. The AAR
is the keystone of the process of learning from successes and failures.

Feedback compares the actual output of a process with the intended
outcome. By focusing on the desired outcome and by describing specific
observations, teams can identify strengths and weaknesses and together
decide how to improve performance. This shared learning improves team
proficiency and promotes bonding, collegiality, and group cohesion.

Though not a cure-all for all issues or problems, the AAR provides a
starting point for improvements to future activities. Because AAR
participants actively discover what happened and why, they can learn
and remember more than they would from a critique or formal evaluation.
A critique only gives one viewpoint and frequently provides little
opportunity for discussion of events by participants. Other
observations and comments may not be encouraged. The climate of a
critique, focusing on what is wrong, often prevents candid discussion
and stifles opportunities for learning and team building."

In short, every participant should have input into the AAR since
everyone's experience was different during the event. One very useful
format for an AAR is to ask and answer the following questions:

• What did we expect to happen?

• What actually happened?

• What went well and why?

• What can be improved?

With these simple questions we can quickly focus on what our
communications plan anticipated (our expectations) versus the reality
of what happened during the event and then identify the pluses and
minuses of both our plan and performance. This can all be done in a way
that focuses on facts and not on personalities. If possible, a
debriefing held immediately after the event can be a convenient way to
get all participants' impressions while still fresh in their minds.
Even if a debriefing is used it can still be beneficial to allow for
written comments within a few days after team members have had a chance
to reflect on the event. It can be helpful to circulate the draft AAR
for comments and suggestion before the final version is released.

The AAR is useful for both the communications team as well as the event
planners. Those "lessons learned" are invaluable for the planners and
the future communication unit leaders. Remember, we can never be sure
who is going to be filling those roles for future events so we cannot
simply rely on someone's recollection of what was done and how well
things went in past years. A written communications plan and an AAR are
the best tools for providing both continuity and improvement from year
to year. Although the communications team's AAR is intended to
specifically address its plans and performance, most event organizers
will also appreciate constructive comments and suggestions regarding
the overall event. -- Jim Aylward, KC8PD, EC, Portage County ARES, Ohio

==> ARES® DOCKET

Walker County, Texas -- On two occasions this month, ARES coordinated
through the local 440 MHz machine to have ice and water brought to the
Incident Command of a wild land fire. I have to commend all of our
first responders during this serious time. They have given maximum
efforts to protect life and property locally. This applies to all of
the state. - Joe Connell, KB5DTS, PIO, Huntsville, Texas

Portage County, Ohio -- ARES of Portage County (Ohio) held a Public
Service Communications Basic Skills class on August 30 with more than
35 in attendance. We were very pleased with the attendance. A handout
has been made available to the other counties in our ARES district for
their use. Copies available to readers also at kc8pd@portcars.org
.
-- Jim Aylward, KC8PD, EC, Portage County, Ohio

==> ARRL PARTNERS' ROUNDUP

 American Red Cross

Here is an online orientation

for volunteers serving the American Red Cross. Read a concise history

of the venerable organization. Get to know who you are serving as ARES
emcomm operators.

FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is encouraging
participation in the Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill,
October 20 at 10:20 AM Pacific Time. FEMA hosted a webinar on the
ShakeOut that helped participants understand what the ShakeOut is and
how to participate. A recording of the webinar will be available in
their webinar library .

The ShakeOut provides a tangible way to participate
 in preparedness by focusing
on the potentially life-saving actions of "Drop, Cover, and Hold On"
during and immediately after an earthquake. The recent earthquake on
the East Coast shows that earthquakes can happen practically anytime,
anywhere, so FEMA is encouraging participation even if you don't live
in California. To join, go to www.ShakeOut.org/register
 and pledge your family, school,
business, or organization's participation in the drill. It's free to
sign up.

Readers may remember the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut

from earlier this year, where over 3 million people across 11 states
practiced earthquake safety. Here's a look at the upcoming ShakeOut
events: October 20, 2011: California
,
Oregon
,
Nevada
,
Guam
;
February 7, 2012: Central United States

- Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas; April 17, 2012: Utah
.
For more information on ShakeOut earthquake drills, visit
www.shakeout.org  and learn about getting
prepared for earthquakes at Ready.gov/earthquakes
.

==> LETTERS

Center of Activity Frequencies

Thanks for the mention of the global SET exercises in the last issue,
and the center of activity frequencies for emergency communications.
These centers of activity were established by IARU-promulgated
gentlemen's agreements, and are not well understood by the amateur
community at large. The IARU has advocated that contesting and other
such activity be curtailed on or adjacent to them. All amateurs should
be aware of these frequencies, and be cognizant of the fact that often
stations requiring emergency assistance are not high powered stations
with great antenna systems. Often they are mobiles, portables operating
from the bush with a simple wire antenna or on a sailboat. I hope
readers will learn about the CoA frequencies and help educate their
fellow amateurs. Remember that the next person aided on one of these
frequencies could be you. There are frequencies in each of the HF
amateur allocations worldwide. Remember that ARRL is an IARU member,
and IARU has taken the leadership in promoting this, but it needs our
help to get the word out. -- Richard Webb, NF5B, Chair, NTS Central
Area Staff [Webb is frequently an active net control on the 14.300 MHz
emergency nets.]

The Emergency Center of Activity (CoA) Frequencies are:

On 15 meters, 21.360 MHz

On 17 meters, 18.160 MHz

On 20 meters, 14.300 MHz

On 40 meters, 7060 kHz

On 80 meters, 3760 kHz

For more info, click here  and
here . There is also a
wealth of information on international emergency telecommunications on
the IARU's Web site .

ARES/NTS

Regarding the article "ECAC Studying ARES/NTS Issues" and particularly
this paragraph: "Williams said that there is a feeling that the "last
mile relationship between traffic handlers and ARES members seems to be
broken. Neither feels an affinity towards the other. NTSers in general
don't join ARES and vice-versa, yet both groups have claims on
abilities to handle traffic in an emergency. Fixing this may also be a
goal of the committee."

I am not part of NTS because I don't have HF capability. My wife
(KI4SBI) and I were able to pass traffic as the last mile on an NTS
message once, but mostly we stick to two-meters on the local repeaters.
Our primary radios are still 5W HTs, even in our vehicles.

If we didn't live in a deed-restricted community (we bought before we
were licensed) we'd have HF at the house. Since we're stuck until the
housing market improves, I installed my G5RV antenna at the county EOC
to give some limited HF capability there. Even in the EOC ham shack, we
barely have HF because the antenna yard is too small to deploy an
inverted-V with widely spread legs.

My thought on the ARES and NTS separation is that the connection
between HF and UHF/VHF users isn't what it needs to be. That's a
function of equipment costs and differing interests within the larger
ham radio hobby. I'll be interested to see what suggestions arise to
help bridge the local versus HF groups. -- Allan West, WA4JD
, Gainesville, Florida [The writer and his wife are
active in ARES/RACES and the CERT program through their local emergency
management agency].

==> RED CROSS CLOSES HISTORIC ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA OFFICE

During September, the Red Cross closed its Arlington, Virginia Office.
The Arlington County Amateur Radio Club had used the radio room there
to support the Arlington Red Cross Chapter since 1977. It was from this
radio room that George Saunders, KR4MU, operating the Club radio

   station W4WVP maintained the only contact between the Arlington Red
Cross Chapter and the Red Cross response at the Pentagon during the
early hours of the 9/11 terrorist attack. -- James Hastings, K9AUC,
Alexandria, Virginia

==> ARRL INVITES NOMINATIONS FOR 2011 INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD

Nominations are open for the 2011 ARRL International Humanitarian
Award. This award is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who
demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international
understanding through Amateur Radio. The League established the annual
prize to recognize those radio amateurs who have used ham radio to
provide extraordinary service to others in times of crisis or disaster.

As one of the few telecommunication services that allows people
throughout the world from all walks of life to meet and talk with each
other, Amateur Radio spreads goodwill across political boundaries. The
ARRL International Humanitarian Award recognizes the Amateur Radio
Service's unique role in international communication and the assistance
amateurs regularly provide to people in need.

Nominations should include a summary of the nominee's actions that
qualify the individual (or individuals) for this award, plus verifying
statements from at least two people having first-hand knowledge of the
events warranting the nomination. These statements may be from an
official of a group (for example, the American Red Cross, The Salvation
Army, a local or state emergency management official) that benefited
from the nominee's particular Amateur Radio contribution. Nominations
should include the names and addresses of all references. - ARRL

==> NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR HART AWARD

The George Hart Distinguished Service Award -- established in 2009 --
may be presented by the Board of Directors to the ARRL member whose
service to the ARRL's Field Organization is of the most exemplary
nature. The Distinguished Service Award is named in honor of George
Hart, W1NJM, long-time Communications Manager at ARRL Headquarters and
chief developer of the National Traffic System. Selection criteria
include: Operating record with the National Traffic System, or
Participation within the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, or Station
appointments and/or leadership positions held within the Field
Organization.

Nominations for the George Hart Distinguished Service Award shall be
accepted from anyone and shall be submitted to the Membership and
Volunteer Programs Manager at ARRL Headquarters by November 1.
Nominations should document as thoroughly as possible the nominee's
lifetime activities and achievements within the ARRL Field
Organization. It is expected that nominated candidates will have 15 or
more years of distinguished service. The Programs and Services
Committee will serve as the Review Committee, with the Board of
Directors making the final determination at its Annual Meeting in
January. Recipients will be given an engraved plaque and cover letter,
and will be profiled in QST.

Nominations for the 2012 George Hart Distinguished Service Award,
including any related supporting material and letters of
recommendation, may be e-mailed to ARRL Headquarters to the attention
of ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N.
Nominations and supporting materials must be received no later than
November 1, 2011 to be considered.

==> WHY THE FEMA COURSES?

For many years, Amateur Radio has longed to be taken seriously by
governmental authorities as a professional-quality resource in disaster
response. Although there are areas of the country where achieving and
maintaining emergency management agencies' respect is still a struggle,
Amateur Radio's service during 9/11 and the major hurricane disasters
has brought us a new level of respect and new opportunities at the
national level.

Being taken seriously as a resource comes with a price, however, that
must be paid by individual volunteers, not in dollars but in precious
personal time. When the federal government instituted the National
Incident Management System (NIMS), it imposed a set of requirements on
state and local emergency management agencies and their personnel.
Affected personnel include not only paid employees of emergency
management and related agencies but also volunteers such as those in
volunteer fire companies, ARES, and RACES. If the emergency management
agencies are to continue receiving federal funds, personnel must
complete a number of FEMA training courses having to do with the
Incident Command System (ICS) and NIMS. Individuals who do not complete
the training will not be allowed to participate, even as volunteers.

These FEMA courses are free of charge, available on line or sometimes
in person at emergency management offices, and not particularly
difficult. The courses are useful in familiarizing volunteers with the
principles of the Incident Command System and showing where
communications fits into the ICS structure. These formal requirements
are here to stay and more may follow. At the national level, Amateur
Radio has earned the respect we always wanted, bringing us closer to
the emergency management establishment. - excerpted from the ARRL
National Emergency Response Planning Committee Report (2007)

Recommended Courses

♦ ARRL Introduction to Emergency Communication-
Course #: EC-001. This is a
revision of the former Emergency Communications Basic/Level 1 course.
This on-line course is designed to provide basic knowledge and tools
for any emergency communications volunteer. Prerequisites: 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. The course covers: The Framework: How
You Fit In; The Networks for Messages; Message Handling; What Happens
When Called; Operations & Logistics; Safety & Survival; and What to
Expect in Large Disasters.

♦ Red Cross or AHA combined course in Adult CPR/First Aid/AED Basics


♦ FEMA IS-100 (Introduction to Incident Command System)


♦ FEMA IS-700 (National Incident Management System)


==> ITU: WHAT IS THE TAMPERE CONVENTION?

When disaster strikes, communications links are often disrupted, yet
for relief workers who arrive on the scene these links are essential.
Victims of disasters are now able to benefit from faster and more
effective rescue operations, thanks to the Tampere Convention on the
Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and
Relief Operations. Before the Convention existed, the trans-border use
of telecommunication equipment by humanitarian organizations was often
impeded by regulatory barriers that made it difficult to import and
rapidly deploy telecommunications equipment for emergency without prior
consent of the local authorities. The treaty simplifies the use of
life-saving telecommunication equipment.

The Tampere Convention calls on countries to facilitate the provision
of prompt telecommunication assistance to mitigate the impact of a
disaster, and covers both the installation and operation of reliable,
flexible telecommunication services. Regulatory barriers that impede
the use of telecommunication resources for disasters are waived. These
barriers include the licensing requirements to use allocated
frequencies, restrictions on the import of telecommunication equipment,
as well as limitations on the movement of humanitarian teams.

The Convention describes the procedures for the request and provision
of telecommunication assistance, recognizing the right of a country to
direct, control and coordinate assistance provided under the Convention
within its territory. It defines specific elements and aspects of the
provision of telecommunication assistance, such as termination of
assistance. It requires countries to make an inventory of the resources
- both human and material - available for disaster mitigation and
relief, and to develop a telecommunication action plan that identifies
the steps necessary to deploy those resources.

The International Telecommunication Union
 (ITU) when requested will
assist in fulfilling the objectives of the Tampere Convention. See also
List of signatories to the Tampere Convention
.
Tampere Convention
. Press Release
(2005) Tampere Convention on Emergency Telecommunications Comes Into
Force 

==> TIPS: QUAKENET QSO 3.11

QuakeNet is in its third year of conducting emergency drills using
Amateur Radio on 2-meter simplex. QuakeNet began with an idea at a
meeting about emergency communications in September 2009 in San Diego,
California. With support and volunteers from the Amateur Radio Club of
El Cajon, QuakeNet began simultaneously with the first ever California
ShakeOut in 2009. This year QuakeNet is striving to be more valuable to
more people, both Amateur Radio operators and anyone else interested in
participating in the drill. This year there are three ways to
participate: (1) Amateur Radio 2-meter Simplex and repeater; (2)
Amateur Radio HF, and (3) Social networking- Twitter.
http://quakenet.technetron.com/quake1/

-- Joseph Matterson, KI6TTF 

==> K1CE FOR A FINAL                  

<<>>


---
 * Origin: The home of the Emergcom echo (1:116/901)