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Subj: ARES E-Letter July 20, 2011
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
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The ARES E-Letter July 20, 2011
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
ARESİ 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 ARESİ
K1CE For a Final
__________
ARESİ 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 ARESİ
--------------------------------
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."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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