I receive a newsletter for ARRL called the ARES E-Letter. Its focus is on ARES type activities. I recommended you sign up for it at the ARRL website.
In the last edition there is an article on a Florida county’s response to Hurricane Matthew. As I read it I thought about our operations and wondered how we would do. Karl Martin, the EC interviewed, makes three issues come to our attention, and I wanted to share some thoughts as they might apply to us.
His first is, “There needs to be more advance consultation, cooperation and coordination with other volunteer organizations such as area Amateur Radio clubs, CERT organizations, and active church groups for parsing of the limited number of volunteer operators.” Martin noted that many ARES volunteers are also members of these other groups who ended up working for them instead of ARES, with the consequence that demand for operators outstripped supply for ARES. Well, we have had some discussion about this, especially concerning our relationship with CERT. Many ops are involved there also and this has been a concern raised a few times as to how that might play out. Some of us are involved in church response, Red Cross and others. The plan the Florida team took was, they have added questions to their ARES application that ask who else the ops are committed to and who they will support. Nice, but that could be a fiasco also when the first words are “but you said you would help us.” I think we all need to consider our support and make a conscious decision. ARES guidelines tell us to take care of home and family first, then ARES; maybe that will help you decide. It can be a critical point if and when IT happens.
His second point is regarding badges. Don’t say it… yes, we need badges. “Secondly, badging/identification must be provided to volunteer communicators for access to sensitive locations such as shelters, and recognition by officials there. Some ARES operators had difficulty getting access to some shelters, and in one case volunteers were asked to leave.” We do have Picture ID badges and as I watch, most folks wear them. I can only hope as we are at events/operations those charged with security will see and understand who our team is. Also, don’t come to an event as my mom used to say “looking like you just crawled out from under a rock.” While I won’t specify a dress code here, there are suggestions on the ARRL site to which we should pay attention.
The third point is to equipment. “Thirdly, there were no coax nor antennas found or marked at some facilities. Having antennas and coax runs pre-placed, working and marked would have made getting communication systems up and running more quickly and reliably.” While we have not progressed to having specific equipment at shelter sites (we do have some at the hospitals), we are moving to a higher level soon as we research several sites during an upcoming SET this spring. We will be listing suggested equipment needed to establish communications at those sites. At this point I suggest if you have equipment you have earmarked for ARES use, as some of us have, tag it as to the specifics it has so it can be best utilized. Once it hits a stash of equipment, it’s lost in the crowd so to speak. For coax a length would be good, and a last tested date might also help. For portable antennas; frequency and power rating might be handy. In all cases if you want it back, put your call or name on it.
We are close to being as ready as we can be. Think some of these topics over and let me hear your ideas. In the meantime, as we just completed our SKYWARN training, please consider your support of this vital activity this spring.
ARES – Amateur Radio Emergency Service – let’s all work towards providing the best service we can.
I look forward to serving with you
73
Rick
K5ECX