 June 21, 2023 Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE | ||
ARES® Briefs, Links ARRL, FEMA Sign New Agreement - Amateur Radio is as relevant as ever. Former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, said "The agreement emphasizes the importance of skilled amateur radio operators in times of crisis and the role of ARES leadership within the emergency communications space." Fugate thanked Ted Okada, K4HNL, Chief Technology Officer at FEMA. RadioMail brings Winlink to iOS devices -- The Winlink Development Team has announced the release of RadioMail, "a new client app for the iPhone by Island Magic Co. of Kaua'i, Hawaii. With RadioMail, you can easily send and receive Winlink emails via telnet or pair with modems to exchange emails over the air." ARRL Elected to Serve on SAFECOM ARRL has been elected to serve on SAFECOM, a group of national thought leaders and officials within the emergency communications and response space that works to set standards used at every level. The program is managed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security. SAFECOM sets the standards of interoperability procedures, and ARRL being a part of the group solidifies the Amateur Radio Service as a robust resource before and during times of crisis. In a letter from SAFECOM Chair, Chief Gerald R. Reardon said "On behalf of the SAFECOM Executive Board, it is with great pleasure that I inform you of our offer to join SAFECOM as a member association. SAFECOM aims to improve multi-jurisdictional and intergovernmental communications interoperability through collaboration with emergency responders and policymakers across federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and international partners. SAFECOM recognizes the organization's dedication to emergency communications and interoperability, and therefore is pleased to extend a membership offer." ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, said "Gaining a seat at the table is a major step in strengthening the role and capability of amateur radio with emergency communication agencies. This will give us the sounding board and resources we need to set standards and create training for our Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers that will better suit AHJ's (Agencies Having Jurisdiction) and partner organizations." The opportunity for ARRL to provide a more comprehensive Emergency Communications program is part of the goal the Board and ARRL leadership has begun to emphasize over the past few years, and this is one more example of the commitment to do so. ARRL will provide premier resources for the served agencies to support them in all phases of Emergency Management. Johnston will serve as the Representative for ARRL on SAFECOM and will be meeting with that leadership over the coming days to begin the process of better understanding all the roles and responsibilities that come with being a member association. "I look forward to working with the SAFECOM leadership as we move forward and with the ARRL leadership to better serve the ham community and our served agencies and partners," Johnston said. Colorado AUXCOMM Supports Southwest Incident Management Team Wildfire Exercise Last September, Southwest Incident Management Team (SWIMT) members discussed hosting a full-scale wildland fire exercise for the Hotchkiss (Colorado) Fire Protection District. SWIMT Incident Commander (IC) Douglas Fritz has extensive experience in wildland fire and understands that communication breakdowns are a common denominator in almost all fatal fires. In light of this, Fritz ensured communications would be front and center in the planning process. The IC turned to SWIMT Communications Unit Leaders (COML) Steve Schroder, KI0KY, Colorado AUXCOMM manager, and Emit Hurdelbrink, W0UAW, Colorado AUXCOMM unit deputy coordinator, to assist in exercise design. Over several months, Schroder and Hurdelbrink worked closely with the planning committee and provided guidance for incorporating interoperable communication systems into every aspect of the exercise. The planning committee developed a complex scenario that brought together local, county, and state resources. It was based on a sudden, rapidly growing wildfire in the Hotchkiss Fire District in southwestern Colorado. The script had the SWIMT engaged in scheduled training at Hotchkiss when the fire began. Because the SWIMT was already on site, it would be called upon to take command of the incident. Wildland fire engines from multiple agencies would respond to a staging area, where each crew would be assigned to conduct structure fire protection operations at pre-identified homes and properties. At the same time, additional residents would play the role of evacuees and report to a mock evacuation center. The exercise sought to demonstrate the capability of the SWIMT to manage a significant wildfire incident and provide opportunities for team members to gain experience and complete items in their Incident Command System (ICS) Position Task Books. On April 1, 2023, after months of planning, the SWIMT Simulated Wildfire Exercise got under way. Delta Emergency Manager Kris Stewart formally requested support from the Colorado Auxiliary Communication (AUXCOMM) Unit using the state's WebEOC system. In addition to personnel to staff the incident command post (ICP) and emergency operations center (EOC), Stewart requested Colorado AUXCOMM's portable HF radio station. Each Colorado AUXCOMM member received an ICS Form 260 resource order with instructions for mobilization and reporting. In addition to the SWIMT COML staff, Mesa County-based AUXCOMM members Ralph Grover, AE0RE; Bill Ritchen, AB0LG; Paul Frey, N2COL; Randy Stringer, KD0NSP, and western region AUXCOMM manager Chip Ferron, N0WKR, traveled to Hotchkiss to provide on-site communication support. Two AUXCOMM members were assigned to the staging area where fire engines and other resources checked in and received their incident action plan (IAP), including the communications plan developed by Schroder and Hurdelbrink. Engines from agencies that lacked interoperable communications were issued 800 DTRS (800 MHz trunking system) radios from the Hotchkiss radio cache.
The Montrose Amateur Radio Club allowed the use of their new communications trailer, which was placed at the ICP. Three AUXCOMM members staffed the trailer and established the incident communication center (ICC). This arrangement allowed communications staff access to ICP personnel to maintain situational awareness and yet have a quiet location to coordinate communications. A portable HF/SHARES go-box and Chameleon antenna provided the team with HF Winlink capability, allowing them to communicate with the State of Colorado and the Delta County EOCs, where additional AUXCOMM partners worked to support the mission. AUXCOMM/ARES members from Mesa County staffed the staging area and the ICC. They monitored traffic on the command channel and participated in using a medical incident report (MIR) in the Wildfire Medical Plan ICS Form 206 form to document simulated injuries during an incident within an incident (IWI) drill. Ferron was the AUXCOMM manager at the ICC. His team used the Colorado AUXCOMM portable HF radio station to send ICS email messages to Colorado Section Emergency Coordinator James Cizek, KI0KN. Cizek used his home station as a proxy for the HF station at the Colorado State EOC near Denver, and the team used the local VHF digipeater to exchange ICS messages with Bill Bear, KC0QXX, Colorado Region Eight Emergency Coordinator, who served as the AUXCOMM manager and oversaw five additional AUXCOMM/ARES members at the Delta County EOC. Throughout the day, AUXCOMM members traded positions and tasks, allowing the entire team to get hands-on training in relaying routine and simulated emergency traffic using the HF and UHF/VHF gear. They worked closely with SWIMT COML Schroder, and other ICP staff. In addition, AUXCOMM/ARES members were able to complete many items in their task books. Conclusions and Lessons Learned After the exercise, Schroder said, "The exercise provided an exceptional training opportunity, and we feel that we are now better prepared to work as a team in support of the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management should a disaster arise." Colorado AUXCOMM is a specialized incident and disaster response public safety communications unit comprised of volunteers whose primary mission is to support the Colorado DHSEM. Colorado AUXCOMM may also support local jurisdictions and agencies through the state resource mobilization process. In addition to providing emergency communications, Colorado AUXCOMM works with our emergency communications agencies, such as the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, the American Red Cross, and the Colorado National Guard, to develop interoperability solutions and cooperative agreements. -- Steve Schroder, KI0KY, and Emit Hurdelbrink, W0UAW New York State ARES Members Participate in State Communications Exercise On April 11, 12, and 13, 2023, members of several New York ARES teams participated in the New York State Communications Unit Exercise at the State Preparedness Training Center (SPTC) in Oriskany, New York. The HSEEP-based exercise was coordinated by the NYS Department of Homeland Security Office of Interoperable and Emergency Communications (OIEC). The exercise included more than 60 people from 26 agencies around the state. The Communications Unit Exercise (COMMEX) is a functional exercise (FE) designed to establish a learning environment for players to exercise emergency response plans, policies, and procedures by building all the real-world systems and networks to solve the communication needs of the actual exercise in real time as they pertain to a disaster response that is significant enough to warrant the activation of regional and State communication assets. The Communications Unit (COMU) was organized, and team positions were filled with people from cities and counties all over the state, and included NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the NYS Office of Emergency Management. Trainees Jim Stefano, W2COP; Tony Correa, KD2PTJ; Joe DiVincenzo, AD2DB, and Peter Newell, KC2WI, all participated as AUXCOMM personnel, along with Martin Grillo, an NYS-credentialed AUXCOMM evaluator, all working under the supervision of a Communications Unit Leader (COML). Stefano had completed his AUXCOMM classroom course at the Dayton Hamvention®, and Correa, DiVincenzo, and Newell completed their courses at the New York State OIEC AUXCOMM class last fall. Another ARES member, Jim Herbst, KC2KNJ, participated as Exercise Director. Objectives for the trainees were to train, exercise, and demonstrate the skills required to respond to requests for communications support; to work as a Communications Unit team; become familiar with working in the NIMS Incident Command System; and familiarize themselves with the equipment and procedures NYS OIEC uses when they deploy. Members also had an opportunity to complete some of the tasks in their AUXCOMM Position Task Book. The scenario was a flood in the city of Rome, New York that overwhelmed city resources. Rome requested assistance from several county and NYS agencies including the NYS OIEC office. The COMU had to develop a communications plan, and build a Regional Operations Center (ROC) in a classroom at the SPTC. The COMU, including AUXCOMMs, used a variety of OIEC deployable equipment and set up radio consoles, laptops, and phones to support multiple dispatch positions. As the scenario expanded, the COMU team also had to provide wireless connectivity for the ROC, add additional deployable repeaters, and provide portables as requests came in. Conclusion This was the first time AUXCOMM members had participated in the NYS OIEC exercise. By all accounts at the hotwash following the exercise, AUXCOMM members rendered invaluable assistance by providing support as technicians and as radio dispatchers in the ROC. The AUXCOMM members also had valuable feedback at the hotwash, which the Exercise Planning Team uses to develop the next exercise. These volunteer members truly demonstrated the value of bringing trained AUXCOMM members into a NIMS Communications Unit. NYS OIEC continues to support training and exercises that include AUXCOMM personnel. -- Jim Herbst, KC2KNJ, Monroe County, New York ARES AUXC Personnel Attend Florida Training Mobilization From May 21 through May 24, 16 amateur radio operators who previously completed the AUXCOMM course and were looking to complete their AUXC position task book were selected to attend Florida's second annual communications training mobilization, known as "MARCONI II." These 16 members deployed to Lake County (near Orlando), along with Mutual Aid Radio Communications (MARC) unit resources, as well as staff from the State of Florida's Communications Unit. Florida is moving toward being an "AUXCOMM State," meaning that the communications resources that could be asked to deploy outside of their local county (whether inside or outside of the state) must complete the AUXCOMM training course as well as the AUXCOMM position task book. [Volunteers in local counties that don't wish to deploy outside of their own county would continue to use whatever program they're currently under, which could be ARRL ARES, RACES, or AUXCOMM.] Florida has offered one AUXCOMM course so far in 2023, two in 2022 and 2021, and is working to get more courses available in various parts of the state this and next year. MARC units were drilled, along with other deployable local and regional assets as part of the training week. Each team was a mix of public safety and AUXC personnel, with several AUXC resources serving as team leaders. Each region of Florida hosts a MARC unit, as well as numerous other local and regional assets, that come together when needed, such as most recently after Hurricane Ian. During Hurrican Ian, for the first time, AUXC volunteers were deployed as part of the state deployment. Additionally, cache radios on VHF/UHF and the 700/800 MHz public safety bands, repeaters, gateways, portable trunked systems, and Satellite systems were utilized. Staff challenged the AUXC trainees in many ways during the week. The AUXCOMM training equips volunteers with practical skills, such as radio operation and data network management, as well as fostering relationships within the emergency response community under common incident management concepts. Having the opportunity to practice and prove your skills alongside professional career response personnel is a great way to learn as well as get to know the people you may be deployed alongside of during an incident or even a planned event. AUXCOMM volunteers attending the exercise received training on topics ranging from operations of the MARC units to Winlink, and proper go-kit station setup. The volunteers also had the opportunity to have various portions of their AUXC position task book signed off by COMT (communications technicians) and COML (communications leader) staff. Some volunteers were ultimately able to complete task books they'd already started and have them signed off on by the SWIC (Statewide Interoperability Coordinator) to be officially recognized as AUXCOMM resources by the State of Florida. Additionally, FEMA has announced updates to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) that officially recognizes the AUXC position as part of the new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) branch. Conclusion AUXCOMM is about more than just amateur radio, as volunteers are trained to be used in any position in which a communications resource may be needed. Whether it be amateur radio, SHARES radio, public safety, answering a phone, or even satellite communications, AUXCs are there to assist wherever they can be utilized to make a difference. - David Byrum, KA4EBX, published in QST NFL, June 2023 issue, Marty Brown, N4GL, editor Hospital Nets: An Expanding Role for Amateur Radio By Ira Brodsky, KC9TC, St. Louis, Missouri Hospital nets deserve a bigger role in amateur radio's future. They not only serve a patently good cause, they can continue and enhance the ongoing development of amateur radio, both to better meet emergency communication needs, and to attract more young people to the service. Radio amateurs and hospital nets give healthcare providers a powerful communication tool for responding to disasters, and give the amateur radio community opportunities to deploy trained operators dedicated to emergency communication, raise public awareness of amateur radio, and attract young people interested in community service. Amateur radio's proven emergency communication value is one of the reasons it enjoys access to frequencies up and down the radio spectrum. Amateur radio operators helped rescue people stranded by floods during Hurricane Katrina, and assisted the American Red Cross following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when commercial telecom networks became overloaded. Hospital nets build on that record by helping healthcare providers make the best use of available beds, physicians, and other valuable resources when disaster strikes. The amateur radio community has partnered with hospitals and government agencies to provide communication when landlines, cell phone networks, and the Internet fail or are impaired. Commercial networks depend on vulnerable infrastructure and were not designed to handle unusual traffic surges. Amateur radio provides capacity on demand for communication over any distance, using voice or data, to and from portable or fixed stations, with or without infrastructure. Now is a good time to take stock of hospital net accomplishments, the remaining challenges to hospital net growth, and the opportunities that hospital nets present to amateur radio going forward. Today's hospital nets are highly diverse. Some serve just a few local hospitals, others serve greater metropolitan areas, and a few serve entire states. Some hospital nets strictly use analog voice communication, but many support data modes, and some even support one of the VHF/UHF digital voice formats. Many await their first activation, while others have years of experience responding to disasters. While hospital nets are mainly expected to respond to local disasters, that's not always the case. "When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, patients were flown into Columbia, South Carolina and routed to area hospitals. In response to a National Disaster Medical System request, for several days the South Carolina Healthcare Emergency Amateur Radio Team (SCHEART) manned a redundant communication system in case the primary systems failed," said Roger Mull, KD4JQJ, District Emergency Coordinator, South Carolina ARES. [Part 2 will appear in next month's issue -- Ed.] FEMA Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group Member Thanks All Healthcare Coalition Pre-Hurricane Communications Exercise Participants The Eastern Healthcare Preparedness Coalition (EHPC) Pre-Hurricane communications exercise involved auxiliary communications resources (including ARRL ARES), and agency use of the Winlink Radio Email System in portions of FEMA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic) and Region 4 (Southeast). This was accomplished through both CISA SHARES and amateur radio resources in a most interoperable and integrated manner. Although the majority of emphasis was within North Carolina, the field situational awareness "ground truth" information outside of that state was illustrated nicely. (See the After-Action Report's Appendix A on page 15). In a letter to ARRL Director of Emergency Communications Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, Winlink Administrator and FEMA Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group (RECCWG) member Steve Waterman, K4CJX, wrote recently, "Thanks to you and the ARRL ARES leadership for their participation in making the auxiliary communications portion of this exercise a success." Waterman also said, "This did not go unnoticed in jurisdictions that were previously less than enthusiastic toward volunteer resources, and hopefully will continue to have a positive impact toward the future use of ARES participation, all under the Auxiliary communications/volunteer resource banner." Waterman noted that "Matthew McMahon, the exercise lead and the author of the AAR grades and certifies Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) exercises for a living, and this certainly shows up when reading the document." He added, "This is a perfect model of an HSEEP compliant AAR from a perfectly executed compliant HSEEP 'pre Hurricane' exercise." [Waterman is a well-known, leading data communications developer with the DHS CISA SHARES Auxiliary; FEMA R4 RECCWG AUXCOMM Committee, Chair; Tennessee EMA COMU, Williamson County; and Winlink Administrator, Development Team, ARSFI Board of Directors. -- Ed.] ARES® Resources
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership. How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form and submit it to your local Emergency Coordinator. ARRL Resources Join or Renew Today! Eligible US-based members can elect to receive QST or On the Air magazine in print when they join ARRL or when they renew their membership. All members can access digital editions of all four ARRL magazines: QST, On the Air, QEX, and NCJ. Subscribe to NCJ -- the National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO parties. Subscribe to QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe to the ARES Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), the ARRL Contest Update (biweekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more! Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. ARRL offers a wide array of products to enhance your enjoyment of amateur radio. Donate to the fund of your choice -- support programs not funded by member dues! Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability. ________ | ||
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