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Subj: ARES E-Letter February 15, 2012
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The ARES E-Letter February 15, 2012
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
In This Issue:
Twisters Prompt Arkansas SKYWARN Response
ECAC Reports Progress on ARES, NTS Studies
New Hampshire ARES© Academy to Build on Success
Lessons Learned: Oregon ARES© SHAKE EX 2011 Solutions
National Hurricane Conference Next Month in Orlando
ARRL Digital Technology for Emergency Communications Course
Letters: Management of Volunteers Modalities
K1CE For a Final
Twisters Prompt Arkansas SKYWARN Response
-----------------------------------------
Arkansas SKYWARN was activated by the National Weather Service's Little Rock
Forecast Office on the afternoon of Sunday, January 22, at 4:30 PM. The day
began with areas of dense fog and drizzle and at 6 AM temperatures were
mostly in the 30s to lower 40s. The forecast had been calling for a severe
weather setup later in the day, but many residents were curious as to how
such an event would be possible given the daylong conditions.
Around 4 PM the fog began to lift and temperatures quickly rose as storms
began to form in the central part of the state. Around the same time
Arkansas SKYWARN Program Coordinator Danny Straessle, KE5WLR, received a
call from the Little Rock Forecast Office and Arkansas SKYWARN was
activated. Straessle is responsible for scheduling net control operator
shifts at the Little Rock office and quickly summoning a team, headed for
the facility. En route, around 5:30 PM, Daryl Stout, AE5WX, brought up the
Weather Watch Net, which is a pre-net for Arkansas SKYWARN. A few severe
thunderstorm warnings were issued and Stout took several check-ins as
certified Amateur Radio storm spotters began to deploy.
By the time the Arkansas SKYWARN net control team was in place shortly
before 6:00, the first tornado warning was issued and a quick and seamless
transition was made from one net to the other. At the mic were Straessle,
and Shane Lee, KF5FBR, assisted by Mona Blacklaw, KM5ONA. Darkness fell as
activity picked up, most of which was south and east of Little Rock in less
dense populated areas of the Delta region of the state. Because of this it
was extremely difficult to see storm development and dangerous to try to
spot it.
Troy Singleton, N5ARK, was the most valuable player of the entire night.
Singleton was raised in southeast Arkansas and knew the area like the back
of his hand, which was instrumental in his safe navigation of the farm roads
in the area to safely spot developing tornadic supercells. At times this was
the only information coming from that area of the state and the NWS Little
Rock Forecast Office was thankful to have reports come in from Singleton.
Also in the area and a little further to the east in Arkansas County were
members of the Grand Prairie Amateur Radio Club. Weather reports were
collected through a simplex net and relayed to club president Randy Geater,
K5NDX, who in turn relayed them to Arkansas SKYWARN at the National Weather
Service.
At one point a rain-wrapped tornado headed toward Geater and his crew and
they took shelter in the county Sheriff's bunker for about 20 minutes. It
was completely rain-wrapped and all they could see was power flash after
power flash as the tornado took down high-voltage transmission lines.
The storms moved out of the Little Rock County Warning Area fast and exited
the state around 10:00 PM. The Arkansas SKYWARN net was brought to a close
shortly before then. In summary, almost 60 certified Amateur Radio storm
spotters checked into the net. And while the storms tracked through areas of
the state in counties where the Amateur Radio population is practically nil,
those from neighboring areas stepped up to the plate and provided a public
service when it was needed most. The following day a damage assessment team
from the NWS rated at least one of the several tornadoes as an EF2.
The Arkansas SKYWARN net is streamed live on a RadioReference feed provided
by the Central Arkansas Radio Emergency Net (CAREN) Club. Accounts of the
role Amateur Radio played during this severe weather event were chronicled
on the Arkansas SKYWARN Facebook Fan Page. Although there are numerous
social media sites in the state covering weather, Arkansas SKYWARN takes an
approach that not only serves Amateur Radio operators but exists to educate
the general public about the role we play in saving lives and property. -- -
Danny Straessle, KE5WLR, Arkansas Section PIO; Central District Emergency
Coordinator; Arkansas SKYWARN Program Coordinator
ECAC Reports Progress on ARES, NTS Studies
------------------------------------------
Last June, the ARRL Emergency Communications Advisory Committee (ECAC) was
tasked with recommending improvements to ARES© and NTS so that the amateur
service can better serve the public in providing emergency communications.
Specific topics included: ARES and NTS objectives and organizational
structures; integration of ARES and NTS; training, certification, and
credentialing; and relationships with served agencies. Chairman Dale
Williams, WA8EFK, former Michigan Section Manager and new Vice Director of
the Great Lakes Division, reported to the ARRL Board of Directors last month.
Williams reported that to "develop a solid foundation of where both the ARES
and NTS stand in the minds of today's field leadership, the ECAC designed
two field surveys. Included in the ARES survey were all Section Managers and
Section Emergency Coordinators. The NTS survey included the NTS leadership,
TCC Staff and Region Net Managers plus SMs and their Section Traffic
Managers. Multiple detailed questions relating to all four of the above
major tasks were included in the surveys."
ECAC members are now carefully reviewing and analyzing the results, and then
will develop recommendations. Williams reported that it would be premature
to offer comment about potential conclusions at this point. Williams thanked
the respondents for their thoughtful and candid responses.
Several respondents' comments were included in Williams' report as a
sampling. From the ARES Survey: "The best emergency communications system is
the one you use everyday. ARES and NTS should be highly integrated, not
independent as now!"
"NIMS/ICS compatibility is urgently needed, and should be required. ARES
should work from the local level up, as NIMS/ICS does. ARRL ARES could learn
a lot from NIMS/ICS."
"There needs to be a standard for type acceptance of services so that when
an agency calls for a 'strike team' it is the same response regardless of
location. (The name 'strike team' is just an example, there could be several
layers of organization, but there needs to be a standard.)"
"We need to build credibility from the top down and bottom up with
government served agencies. Need more visibility in their training materials
and plans. Need national ID approved by FEMA with background check and
minimum training. We also need to make sure if All Else truly fails, the
system is flexible enough that non-accredited operators can be used in some
capacity."
"More national help to local and regional ARES organizations around the
country. Questions above could also be applied to RACES. FEMA needs to kill
the program and replace with ARES or a new combined ARES/RACES organization."
From the NTS Survey: "Get the idea out that traffic is central to effective
ARES action. EMCOMM is traffic. Too much distance now between interest in
'ARES' and 'Traffic'."
"NTS has a great reputation and past. I'd like to see the end to the junk
messages from the few senders who do that. We've lost members due to them.
In these days, it's ever more difficult to accomplish a level of
participation, let alone deal with all the garbage messages. We pass them
all here, but members just don't come back to the net. Also can't understand
how some states can simply refuse to handle traffic from other states!"
"NTS nets and ARES/RACES are integrated in our section. More traffic of all
kinds would help to exercise the system. More involvement of ARES members in
day-to-day NTS operations would be very good training. Some ARES members do
not understand the need for the NTS or for traffic-handling training."
Williams vacated the ECAC chairmanship on January 1 to assume the post of
Great Lakes Division Vice Director. He thanked committee members for their
outstanding service, and also the PSC and the Board for this opportunity to
have served.
[Editor's note: We wish Dale the best of success in his new post. He served
the ECAC exceptionally well during his tenure as chairman, bringing a spirit
of cameraderie and a good work ethic to accomplish much, despite the
sometimes diverging opinions of its members. Jim Cross, WI3N, the Section
Manager of the Maryland/DC Section, has been appointed as new ECAC Chairman.
-- K1CE]
New Hampshire ARES© Academy to Build on Success
-----------------------------------------------
Planning for the second annual New Hampshire ARES © Academy program is
underway. Last year, the state's ARES leaders wanted to test the concept of
a major ARES training program, and the response was fantastic. A full house
(100 people) attended and the same number is expected for this year's
academy. The program offered four courses, and all attendees took all four,
25 at a time. Courses included message handling, net control skills,
introduction to NBEMS, and go-kits and personal preparedness.
This year, a basic track, an advanced track, and a series of workshops will
be offered -- all in the same four classrooms and one auditorium. More
courses will be introduced in future years. A big new offering will be the
two-hour Emcomm Boot Camp workshop for new licensees. This resulted from
discussions during the recent NH-ARES winter leadership meeting.
The opening session in the auditorium last year featured speakers from each
of three key served agencies: the New Hampshire Homeland Security and
Emergency Management Chief of Communications John Wynne; Red Cross's Ian
Dyer; and NWS's Scott Reynolds, KC2JCB. During the day, the Director of
HSEM, Chris Pope, stopped in to say hello, and this year he has been asked
to be sole keynote speaker. We also have a wrap-up session at which SM/SEC
Al Shuman, K1AKS, and Dave Colter, WA1ZCN, Assistant SEC for Operations and
Training, take a few minutes to give a final pep talk and hear any kudos or
gripes about the program.
Colter develops a basic outline for each of the courses, then finds a
qualified instructor. They work together to develop a curriculum and
presentation materials. The courses are taught to the standards established
by the ARECC courses and state/section ARES procedures and plans.
The use of the State Fire Academy as academy venue is free because of the
fine relationship ARES enjoys with the state. Colter said "We also take the
opportunity to shoot ID photos for those who need them, both during morning
registration and after the closing session. After the event, they are
uploaded to the Section's online database so the ECs can access them for
card printing. We're just starting up with a new professional card bureau to
produce very high quality plastic cards. Everyone pays for their own ($8.75)
and cards are mailed directly to the member within 24 hours. No more
laminating! -- Dave Colter, WA1ZCN, ASEC - Operations, Training, NH-ARES;
and ARRL Emergency Communications Advisory Committee New England Division
Representative
Lessons Learned: Oregon ARES© SHAKE EX 2011 Solutions
-----------------------------------------------------
The story of Oregon's major earthquake exercise SHAKE EX 2011 was covered in
March QST, Public Service column. Here is more discussion on the lessons
learned and options for solutions to some of the problems the exercise
leaders experienced.
On April 9, 2011, one month after the disastrous Japanese earthquake and
tsunamis, Oregon ARES© volunteers conducted a statewide simulated emergency
test (SET) to test their readiness to respond to just such a disaster. The
SHAKE EX 2011 SET was designed to test the ability of ARES© units to
exchange very high volumes of written messages between the county Emergency
Managers and the Oregon Emergency Management (OEM) office in the state
capitol, Salem. Much of the radio traffic exchange occurred over the Oregon
ARES© Digital Network (OADN), which uses Winlink HF and VHF radio systems
funded by the State of Oregon following the major windstorms of 2007. In
addition to State-level, statewide communications activities, many counties
held their own local drills in coordination with their local Emergency
Managers, medical facilities and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).
The local drills typically included establishment of HF radio systems at
remote locations using portable Field Day-style antennas. Local drills
included the transmission of photographs by radio to county and state EOCs
and relaying simulated damage reports between stations.
Lessons Learned
During a disaster of the scale anticipated during this SET, there will
likely be an overwhelming volume of emergency written and tactical traffic
being exchanged between emergency managers. At such times, it is essential
that the flow of messages from ARES© radio operators to and from these
officials be accurate, efficient and timely. Although the technology used by
ARES© units to get the message delivered worked quite well, it soon became
apparent that the flood of messages being received at many EOCs simply
overwhelmed anyone's ability to methodically log, manage and distribute
them. Several options have been proposed to deal with this data management
issue, and they are discussed below:
1. ARES operational procedures and training are needed to minimize the
volume of unnecessary traffic generated by overuse of the "Reply All" option
in the Winlink Airmail 3 software. While helpful in appropriate situations,
such overuse dramatically slowed reception of other perhaps more important
messages at some EOCs.
2. Efficiencies are also needed within the EOCs themselves to improve on the
"print and stack" methods of dealing with message overload. Although the
best way to handle this problem may be electronic distribution to the Served
Agency Emergency Managers, solutions will likely vary between agencies.
3. There has been interest within Oregon Served Agencies of developing the
ability to transmit damage assessment photo images using Amateur Radio. This
SET was an opportunity to test operational procedures using Winlink HF
Pactor peer-to-peer and VHF RMS connections for this purpose. SET
instructions were to limit image size to about 10 Kb (240 x 180 resolution)
to avoid excessive file transfer time. Pre-SET testing suggested that HF
Pactor transmission time would vary from about 4 to 10 minutes depending on
signal strengths or about 3 minutes by VHF Winlink packet to an RMS gateway.
Four county EOCs successfully transmitted images via 40 meter Winlink Pactor
peer to peer, demonstrating the feasibility of providing this service.
Operators noted, however, that photo image transmission disrupted their
handling of written traffic. In such cases, Emergency Managers may need to
set message transmission priorities. Nevertheless, the ability of Oregon
ARES units to transmit damage assessment photos, even low resolution images,
has been of great interest to Oregon Emergency Managers.
4. Since existing antenna systems would likely be destroyed in a real event,
the ability to set up portable, emergency powered stations "Field Day-style"
would be mission critical. -- Vincent Van Der Hyde, K7VV, Oregon Section
Emergency Coordinator, K7VV@arrl.net; John Core, KX7YT, Oregon Section ARES©
SET Coordinator, KX7YT@arrl.net
National Hurricane Conference Next Month in Orlando
---------------------------------------------------
The 2012 National Hurricane Conference, "the nation's forum for education
and professional training in hurricane and disaster preparedness," will be
held March 26-29 at the Hilton Orlando, Florida. A robust Amateur Radio
presence and forums are always on tap. The primary goal of the National
Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response,
recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United
States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. In addition,
the conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local
officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency
Management. To accomplish these goals, the annual conference emphasizes:
* Lessons Learned from Hurricane Strikes.
* State of the art programs worthy of emulation.
* New ideas being tested or considered.
* Information about new or ongoing assistance programs.
* The ABC's of hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation --
in recognition of the fact that there is a continual turnover of emergency
management leadership and staff.
Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, hosting ARRL Southeastern Division Director, reports
that there will be several Amateur Radio activities going on during the
week. "The National Hurricane Conference (NHC) leadership continues to
recognize the valuable contributions of Amateur Radio and again invited us
to participate with two sessions," Sarratt said. Forums are:
NHC Session #1: Monday, March 26, from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM, the main Amateur
Radio session titled, "Amateur Radio Training Sessions: Disaster
Communications Before, During and After Hurricanes."
NHC Session #2: Tuesday, March 27, from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM, at the National
Hurricane Conference (NHC), there will be an Amateur Radio session designed
for Emergency Management agencies called "Amateur Radio Rap Session --The
Emergency Manager's Hidden Resource."
On Monday, March 26, 2012 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, the ARRL Southeastern
Division and the Orange County EOC will host an interactive free NHC
Workshop for all ARES-interested Amateur Radio operators at the Orange
County Emergency Operations Center, 6590 Amory Court, Winter Park, Florida.
You will be able to meet other like-minded hams and the presenters of the
Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio sessions. The agenda will be:
introductions, conference presenters summarize the NHC Amateur Radio
presentations, emergency communications discussion, questions & answers and
door prizes.
All hams are invited at no cost to attend the National Hurricane Conference
Amateur Radio sessions and Orange County EOC Workshop. For additional
information:
National Hurricane Conference
http://www.southeastern.arrl.org/2012NationalHurricaneConferenceActivities.pdf
ARRL Southeastern Division
Hurricane Conference presenters are:
Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator, National
Hurricane Center
John McHugh, K4AG, Coordinator for Amateur Radio, National Hurricane Center,
WX4NHC
Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net and
ARRL SEC, Eastern Massachusetts
Mike Corey, KI1U - ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager
Greg Sarratt, W4OZK - ARRL Southeastern Division Director
Sarratt said "We encourage you to visit all the activities you can, learn
more about Amateur Radio emergency communications and meet the folks doing
it. Hope to see you there!"
ARRL Digital Technology for Emergency Communications Course
-----------------------------------------------------------
"This course is a great starting point for anyone interested in the public
service applications of digital communications technology." -- Steve Ford,
WB8IMY, course author and QST Editor/ARRL Publications Manager
In this course, the student will be introduced to all the ways Amateur Radio
operators are using digital technology as a valuable emergency
communications tool. The topics discussed during the course include: Packet
radio; APRS; Winlink 2000; IRLP; EchoLink and WIRES-II; D-STAR; APCO25; HF
sound card modes; Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). The course will help
answer questions such as: Can you transfer supply lists or personnel
assignments between emergency operations sites? Can you get critical e-mails
to the Internet if a connection goes down? Can you relay digital images of
damage at specific locations? Can you track the locations of emergency
personnel and display them on computer maps?
Illustrations, screenshots, Internet links and audio files are used to
demonstrate transmission modes and equipment configurations. Bite-sized
learning units and interactive knowledge checks make learning interesting
and fun.
See supplemental material and product support for The ARRL Digital
Technology for Emergency Communications Course. Self-study. CD-ROM, version
1.1.
Letters: Management of Volunteers Modalities
--------------------------------------------
I am the Administrative Assistant Emergency Coordinator for the Hendricks
County, Indiana ARES under Ronald Burke, KB9DJA, county EC. Burke and the
rest of our ARES leadership have been discussing new ways to enhance our
emergency response capability. We have 40 members.
I read your article in February QST "Putting Amateur Radio in Context in the
EOC," about Flagler County's volunteer auxiliary E-COMM unit. Our ARES
organization does recognize the FEMA ICS/NIMS protocols. We have 15 members
who have taken the ICS 100, 200, 700,and 800 courses. We also offer SKYWARN
training, net control training, NTS training, as well as various other
training classes/workshops throughout the year. We have a group of net
control operators that runs our SKYWARN nets when severe weather approaches
or when the NWS activates us.
If you could give us more insight into how your organization's program
works, we may be able to start one here. Our county emergency management
director supports Amateur Radio, and he may be interested in the Flagler
model to enhance Amateur Radio's response capability accordingly. -- Kenneth
A. Kayler, Sr., KC9SQD, Hendricks County, Indiana ARES Assistant EC
[Ken, here is a link to complete information on the Flagler Emergency
Management Volunteer program, including application form and comprehensive
program manual. - K1CE]
K1CE For a Final
----------------
There has been extensive discussion on training and certification lately;
for example, in the March issue of QST, Public Service column. In the
February issue, an article on the contemporary EOC environment spoke briefly
to the topic. The same EOC "types" or classifies its volunteers by their
experience levels, and their training and certifications. Here is the matrix
the emergency manager uses to select volunteers for specific duties during
emergency or disaster situations. It provides some guidance to us as radio
amateurs on training to take, and certifications to obtain, to make
ourselves more valuable to the EOC professionals. This matrix is used by the
Flagler County, Florida, emergency services department:
CertificatType IV Type III Type II Type I
IS-100 IntX X X X
IS-200 ICS for SinglX X X
IS-700 NIMX X X X
IS-800.B National ReX X X
IS-230 Principals ofX X X
IS-235 Emergency Planning X
IS-240 Leadership and influence X
IS-241 Decision Making and Problem SolviX
IS-242 Effective CommunicationX X
IS-244 Developing and ManagingX X
IS-288 The Role of Volunteer AX X
I-300 Intermediate ICS X X
I-400 Advanced ICS X
I-701 NIMS Multiagency Coordination SystX
I-703 NIMS Resource Management X
CERT X X
Ham Radio license or GMRS X X
CPR X X
Volunteer Experience:
- Less thaX
- 6 Months X
- 1 year X
- 2 Years X
_______________
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