<<< concluded from previous message >>>
hired director.
We presently have 18 active RACES members. We meet monthly, have true
training nets every other week, and hold quarterly drills/exercises.
All members have completed background checks and are required to take
the FEMA ICS 100, 200, 700 and 800 courses plus the ARRL's Level I
emcomm course.
Our Assistant EMA Director truly had the vision for how he could make
the fullest use of our members, realizing that the EMA had a critical
need for support. Like most EMA's, they have no real support staff.
There are only the Director, Assistant Director, and an administrative
assistant. We have supported a Volunteer Reception Center, trained for
H1N1 anti-viral vaccine distribution, and, most importantly, been put
to use running the EMA's mobile command post, a fully functioning
communication center containing communication gear for all local,
regional and state agencies.
We had the opportunity to provide supportive communications for
Operation Talon Shield in August. This was the largest multi-agency
training exercise ever held in Ohio, involving local, regional, state
and federal assets plus the Ohio National Guard. The Ohio EMA
After-Action Report gave the communications team an excellent review. I
had the privilege of serving as COML for the exercise and participate
on the county's Incident Management Team.
The EMA upgraded its radio room with new Amateur Radio gear. They offer
us training opportunities, plus 24/7 access to the EOC and the Mobile
Command Post. We interact with police, fire and county hospital staff
and demonstrate our capabilities to them, and, most importantly, we
have been able to maintain the relevancy of ham radio volunteers. It is
a harsh reality, but there is not the same demand for purely ham radio
operations as there has been in the past.
Our program is virtually the same concept as the FEMV, just with a
different name: RACES. Congratulations on the FEMV program. Your team
will be riding the wave of the future. -- Jim Aylward, KC8PD/AAM5EOH,
Radio Officer, Portage County EMA/RACES EC, ARES of Portage County;
Emergency Operations Officer, Ohio Army MARS
After working with ARES and RACES since 1999, I think this program is
excellent. There are a lot of hams that are willing to help when
something
happens but are totally unprepared to work within the NIMS/ICS
protocols that all agencies must now follow. Their lack of training or
understanding of procedures becomes a burden to the Incident Commander
when trying to orchestrate his planning and implementation of the
emergency action plan. FEMV is on the same page as we are up here in
Passaic County, New Jersey. -- Fred Buchner, KO2FB, Hawthorne, New
Jersey
In re Flagler County's new volunteer program, congratulations! It is
long past time for someone to actually step up and make a commitment.
My complaint for a full decade now has been that ARES has no training
requirement. An EC can require training, but ARES as a national program
does not. I applaud the change! - Pat Lambert, W0IPL, Longmont,
Colorado
Regarding the volunteer plan that Flagler County has initiated, it's
needed. I've been a member of various volunteer organizations (American
Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, REACT) and they tend to share one common
trait, what an Air Force pilot buddy referred to as all thrust, no
vector. We all want to do the right thing as long as it doesn't
interfere with doing "our thing, our way." As a police officer
(retired), I've been on the other side of sometimes having too much
help, well-intentioned but lacking direction. The Flagler County plan
seems to be well-organized and reasonable. - Howard Estes, WB4GUD,
Franklin, North Carolina
The description of your Flagler County ARES emcomm group sounds like
RACES. The VCO is simply an RO under a different name. Wear the ARES
hat for the bicycle tour, wear the RACES hat when the county calls you
out. -- Nick Rylatt, AA3T, Marysville, Pennsylvania
ICS-213 Form
I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind trying to merge the ARRL
radiogram and IC-213 form. Our served agencies (including the
Department of Emergency Management for the State of Texas, the State
Operations Center, and a variety of city and county EOCs) are all
requiring that we be able to process (deliver and reply to) a signed
IC-213. There is no option to deliver such a message by ARRL radiogram
or any other transcribed message.
We may not agree that this should be the case (and there are lots of
ARES members who tell us to get the State to change the rules), but
they
are the served agency and if we want to participate, we have to figure
out how to do that. The physical signature is an important component
that means we use scanned IC-213 forms sent as attachments to a Winlink
e-mail. If the signature isn't required, it is still far more efficient
to send a standard e-mail, even if it is copied and pasted into an
IC-213
for deliver. -- Jim Russell, NQ5L, South Texas Assistant SEC, Texas
Rapid Response Task Force Operations
==> INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD NOMINATIONS OPEN
Nominations are open for the 2010 ARRL International Humanitarian Award
. The 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 Amateur Radio
operators who have used ham radio to provide extraordinary service to
others in times of crisis or disaster. A committee appointed by the
League's President recommends the award recipient(s) to the ARRL Board,
which makes the final decision. The committee is now accepting
nominations from Amateur Radio, governmental or other organizations
that have benefited from extraordinary service rendered by an Amateur
Radio operator or group. The ARRL International Humanitarian Award
recognizes Amateur Radio'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 or 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.
All nominations and supporting materials for the 2010 ARRL
International Humanitarian Award must be submitted in writing in
English to ARRL International Humanitarian Award, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111 USA. Nomination submissions are due by December 31,
2010.
While no award was conferred in 2009, the 2008 ARRL Humanitarian Award
was given to the Amateur Radio operators of the Sichuan Radio Sports
Association, the Chinese Radio Sports Association (CRSA
) -- that country's IARU
Member-Society -- and the many Amateur Radio
operators in China who assisted with communications support in the
aftermath of the May 2008 earthquake
in the Wenchuan area of China's Sichuan province. In conferring the
award, the committee noted that the hams' "immediate actions and use of
Amateur Radio rendered assistance to victims" of the earthquake and the
"long-term relief operation mounted by these organizations exemplifies
the highest level of dedication to public service."
==> EMCOMM LEVEL ONE (EC-001) BEING REVISED
We've been answering a number of inquires related to the transition
from the existing Emergency Communications (AREC) Level 1 course to the
revised course which will be called "Introduction to Emergency
Communications." The new course is expected to be released online on a
new online platform in early 2011.
The last registrations for the current online Level 1 course were
accepted in July 2010 to allow time for students to complete the course
before the old online platform was retired. However, field instruction
and exams for the Level 1 course will continue to be supported through
December 31, 2010.
We expect to beta test the new course on the new platform in January
2011 and release it for enrollment shortly thereafter. We plan to
produce course books for the new course after we've had time to receive
feedback on the new course content. We expect the new course books will
be available by mid-year.
Please review the FAQ's posted on our website at
http://www.arrl.org/cep-news-and-announcements for specific information
about how this transition will affect those who have supporting roles
for the AREC program, including EmComm Mentors, Field Instructors and
Field Examiners.
==> K1CE FOR A FINAL
The 2010 hurricane season
ended
yesterday, November 30. It was a busy season, but no hurricanes struck
the U.S. mainland. We were just lucky. The insidious danger of a quiet
season here is the development of complacency. We cannot allow that to
happen. The off-season is the time to re-double your efforts on
preparedness both personally and organizationally at all levels. Train,
exercise, and attend the numerous hurricane conferences that occur
early next year. Look at the trends in NIMS/ICS training and protocols,
emergency management both at the local and State levels, and adapt your
personal and local ARES planning accordingly. Believe me, it won't seem
long before we are all staring down the throat of the 2011 hurricane
season, when we might not be as lucky as we were this year.
________
Happy Holidays from all of us here on the editorial and production
staff (too numerous to mention individually) here on the main corporate
campus of the ARES E-Letter office suites here in Flagler County,
Florida! See you next year! 73, Rick K1CE
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==============================
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Questions or comments concerning content of the ARes
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