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********************************************
The ARES Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League ********************************************

August 17, 2022

Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE <k1ce@arrl.net>

IN THIS ISSUE

- June Pacific Northwest Exercises Bring New Level of Collaboration
Between Emergency Management and Response Organizations
- Operators Support American Red Cross in Kentucky Flood Response
- ARRL Simulated Emergency Test: Consider Running It Under the ICS
- Tips: A Monthly Radiogram Challenge
- ARRL Section News
- Letters
- K1CE for a Final: Put on the Shirt
- ARES® Resources
- ARRL Resources

ARES® Briefs, Links

Amateur Radio, Winlink Gain Attention in the FEMA Disaster Emergency Communications Newsletter -- published twice monthly for the FEMA
Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group (RECCWG) stakeholders, this newsletter provides articles of interest from
various sources across the emergency communications and homeland
security communities.

In the lead article for the August 1-15 issue, Amateur Radio and
Winlink drew attention for roles in the RECCWGs Regions 4 and 6 joint Communications Exercise (COMMEX) conducted May 31-June 1. The exercise simulated large-scale cyber-attacks that targeted four major
metropolitan areas with internet, wireless and landline related
outages. Each state tapped into their PACE Planning models - a viable
list of Primary, Alternative, Contingency, and Emergency modes of communications - to overcome disruptions in primary public safety communications systems.

Areas without internet access used Winlink to successfully send
templated "Field Situation Reports" that provided "ground truth"
information. "The radio circuits used were provided by CISA SHARES,
State Public Safety Radio Systems, and Amateur Radio." See the full
story on the Amateur Radio/Winlink aspects of the exercise in the June
2022 issue of the ARES Letter
<http://www.arrl.org/ares-el?issue=2022-06-15>.

The New England ARES Academy channel <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMzRyHawnFlIQ0j4CbXPVQ> on YouTube
features a number of worthwhile training and other videos. The New
Hampshire ARES <http://www.nh-ares.org/> program publishes an excellent website, a fine example to be emulated by other Sections' programs.
It's replete with resources and a knowledge repository.

An excellent training video series on YouTube is conducted by veteran
host C. Matthew Curtin, KD8TTE, an experienced SHARES and military
operator. He has served as Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator
(ASEC), Franklin County, Ohio, Emergency Coordinator (EC), and NTS Net
Manager. Curtin was a presenter at the ARRL Emergency Communications
Academy held in conjunction with the ARRL National Convention at
Orlando HamCation® in February. Curtin's dynamic presentations never
fail to captivate the audience. Visit KD8TTE's channel. <https://www.youtube.com/c/KD8TTE/featured>

JUNE PACIFIC NORTHWEST EXERCISES BRING NEW LEVEL OF COLLABORATION

BETWEEN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS

Six preparedness activities focusing on the next full-length megathrust
rupture in the Cascadia Subduction Zone were described in the May 2022
edition of the ARES Letter <http://www.arrl.org/ares-el>. In the
exercises, which involved operational communications, amateur radio participation was well-received and appreciated.

On Thursday and Friday, June 9 and 10, the National Tribal Emergency
Management Council (NTEMC) kicked off their Thunderbird and Whale 2022
Exercise with a "cold start" EOC setup. Meanwhile, hams on the east
side of Washington stood by to collect simulated situation reports
(SITREPs) from amateur radio stations in the affected areas closer to
the coast. This effort didn't work out as planned due to poor
cross-state band conditions on HF. Members of the Kitsap (County)
Auxiliary Radio Service and the Seattle Auxiliary Communications
Service provided ham radio communications at the NTEMC's EOC.

During this period, a complete commercial communications interruption
was part of the exercise plan. "We told everybody they had to turn off
their cell phones and couldn't use their laptops or answer email or
text messages," said Lynda Zambrano, KE7RWG, the Executive Director of
the NTEMC. Winlink via HF was used to request a SatCOLT (Satellite Cell
On Light Truck) from FirstNet <https://www.firstnet.com/>, and that
arrived at the EOC the next day. One side note of interest: two of the
ham radio volunteers at the NTEMC EOC are mathematicians who have
conducted tsunami impact modeling and published studies of shorelines
along the northern Washington coastline.

On Wednesday and Thursday, June 15-16, radio amateurs in Clark, Lewis,
Pacific, and Skamania counties traveled to bridges on state and federal highways in their local areas and performed "Level 1 Post Earthquake
Bridge Inspections," and radioed these to the EOC at the Washington
State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) via both voice and HF
Winlink. Several of the radio paths didn't work as planned, but the
hams involved easily adapted and found alternate frequencies without
missing a beat. At the end of the exercise, Monique Rabideau, KG7IJI,
the Southwest Region Emergency Manager at WSDOT, sent an email to the
radio volunteers saying "You are all ROCK STARS! Thank you so much for
your work to make this a reality for this exercise!!!"

On Saturday, June 18, the single day Washington Disaster Airlift
Response Team (DART) DART/EVAC Functional Exercise took place,
delivering 25,000 pounds of food via general aviation aircraft to
multiple food banks in northwest Washington. Communications between
airports were supported by dozens of ham radio volunteers from Clallam,
Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Walla Walla, and Whatcom
counties.

Also on Saturday, June 18, the United States Volunteers - Joint
Services Command (USV-JSC) supported the NTEMC response by activating
their national and (several) regional commands. Ham radio volunteers
set up temporary stations in California <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chZihZbSoKM>, Florida, Virginia, and Washington, and passed ICS-213 forms (mostly SITREPs) on Winlink. Using
ham radio communications was new to the USV-JSC commanders, and they
were impressed by the support.

On Saturday, June 18, through Tuesday, June 21, the Oregon Disaster
Airlift Response Team (DART) held a functional exercise and delivered
nearly 5,000 pounds of food via general aviation aircraft to tribes in Southwest Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Due to amateur
radio support for competing exercises in Oregon, only five airports
were staffed by volunteers with portable HF Winlink stations,

Volunteer general aviation pilot Meyer Goldstein makes a food delivery
to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe <https://cowlitz.org/> at Grove Field in
Washington [Photo courtesy Steve Aberle, WA7PTM]

the backbone for tracking aircraft arrivals and departures. The
hams at the Newport (Oregon) airport also set up ADS-B tracking to
watch for incoming flights. The food delivery to the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians <https://www.ctsi.nsn.us/> at the Newport
airport was recorded by a Discovery Channel film crew, and the
estimated air date for this footage is February 2023.

This group of exercises stimulated a new level of collaboration between emergency management and response organizations throughout a wide
geographical footprint. The communications portion could not have been
carried out without hams in the Eastern Washington, Los Angeles,
Oregon, San Francisco, Southern Florida, Virginia, and Western
Washington sections all working together. -- Steve Aberle, WA7PTM,
Assistant Director, ARRL Northwestern Division

OPERATORS SUPPORT AMERICAN RED CROSS IN KENTUCKY FLOOD RESPONSE

As the flood waters began to recede following devastating rainfall in
Kentucky that began on July 26, the American Red Cross reported that
over 400 of their disaster workers were on the ground, as well as
dozens more in other locations. They provided shelter, meals, and other
forms of support. Red Cross teams also worked alongside their state and municipal partners among others, including Kentucky ARES volunteers.

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, was in
touch with American Red Cross personnel in the affected area. He said
ham radio volunteers were supporting Red Cross damage assessment teams
with radio communications. "The rural and mountainous terrain of the
affected area adds to the already difficult situation," said Johnston.

Much of the local response effort is being coordinated by Steve Morgan,
W4NHO, of Owensboro, Kentucky. The response of radio amateurs
throughout the region is under and in cooperation with an existing
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kentucky Chapter of the
American Red Cross. ARES groups from Ohio and Virginia have also been
in touch with hams in the affected areas and have been on standby,
ready to respond if needed. - ARRL Letter

ARRL SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST: CONSIDER RUNNING IT UNDER THE ICS

Trending in incidents, events, activations and exercises these past few
years has been their administration under the Incident Command System
(ICS). Two months ago, a club in rural northern Florida conducted its
Field Day under the system, with an Incident Commander and assistants
for Safety, Liaison and Public Information; and chiefs for operations, finance/administration, logistics, and planning. This system translated
into a winning scenario for the club: scores proved it, the county
sheriff and emergency manager made appearances, and safety was the
primary concern with no incidents noted.

Traditionally, the System is used by public agencies to manage
emergencies, but the ICS can also be used by businesses and many other entities, including ARES, as an administration model. ARES emergency coordinators and members can become familiar with the fundamental
concepts of incident command and coordinate planning with local public emergencies services accordingly.

The use of ICS by an ARES group - or any group for that matter --
depends upon the size and complexity of the "incident" or event.
Functions and roles may be assigned to multiple individuals or a few
persons may be assigned multiple responsibilities. Not all of the ICS
positions need to be activated in each incident: The ICS structure is
meant to expand and contract as the scope of the incident requires. For small-scale incidents, only the incident commander may be assigned.
Command of an incident would likely transfer to the senior on-scene
officer of the responding public agency when emergency services arrive
on the scene.

For an amateur radio exercise such as the ARRL Simulated Emergency Test
(SET), the Emergency Coordinator could, for example, assume the title
of IC or Communications Unit Leader (COML) and rank-and-file ARES
members can assume other roles in the Communications Unit (COMU). The Communications Unit, a critical function within the Logistics Section
is designed to support the operable and interoperable communications
needs for planned events, unplanned events, and exercises.

Key COMU positions that can be assigned to ARES members in the SET
include:

- Communications Unit Leader (COML)
- Incident Communications Center Manager (INCM)
- Communications Technician (COMT)
- Incident Tactical Dispatcher (INTD)
- Radio Operator (RADO)
- IT Service Unit Leader (ITSL)

These positions are a valuable resource and should be utilized whenever possible during both the pre-planning and response to planned events,
unplanned events, and exercises.

The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test weekend is October 1-2 this year, but
groups are free to conduct their local and Section-wide exercises at
any time throughout the fall. The annual SET encourages maximum
participation by all amateur radio operators, partner organizations,
and national, state, and local officials who typically engage in
emergency or disaster response.

In addition to ARES volunteers, radio amateurs active in the National
Traffic System, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), SKYWARN, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and a variety of other allied
groups and public service-oriented radio amateurs are needed to fulfill important roles in this nationwide exercise.

The SET allows volunteers to test equipment, modes, and skills under
simulated emergency conditions and scenarios. Individuals can use the
time to update a "go-kit" for use during deployments and to ensure
their home station's operational capability in an emergency or
disaster. To get involved, contact your local ARRL Emergency
Coordinator or Net Manager. Check on upcoming planned activities
through local, state, or Section-wide nets.

Consider developing your group's SET plan by using the Department of
Homeland Security's Exercise and Evaluation Program <https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/exercises/hseep> (HSEEP). Exercises are a key component of national preparedness -- they
provide the whole community with the opportunity to shape planning,
assess and validate capabilities, and address areas for improvement.
HSEEP provides a set of guiding principles for exercise and evaluation programs, as well as a common approach to exercise program management,
design and development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning.

An Example of Excellence

This year's SET in Florida is titled "Service DENIED" with the scenario
of a statewide cyber-attack that impacts the state's communications infrastructure. While ARES teams based in Florida are accustomed to
hurricane activations, a cyber-attack has just as much chance of
occurring with even less notice (if any) than a hurricane. The slogan
we all see, "When all else fails, ham radio works," would truly pick up
its real meaning with a full communications infrastructure outage.

"We have begun working with our served agencies and other partner
organizations to get engagement for participation," said Northern
Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Arc Thames, W4CPD. Communicators
from the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) will be participating in this exercise from the State EOC in Tallahassee so
this provides an excellent opportunity for a county, volunteer
organization, or agency to test their communications ability with the
State and other agencies throughout the state. All three ARRL sections
are planning to make this a true statewide exercise.

TIPS: A MONTHLY RADIOGRAM CHALLENGE

It's important for all radio amateurs to know how to send an ARRL
Radiogram. To accomplish this goal, the Northern Florida Section has
set up a Monthly Radiogram Challenge. This month's challenge, for
example, is for operators to send a properly formatted Radiogram to the
Section Emergency Coordinator with "what your number one fear or
concern of something that could go wrong during an emergency activation
and what you would do to remediate that concern" -- whether it be
something like not having enough batteries or an antenna breaking, etc. Radiograms may be sent via a traditional HF or VHF net or Winlink, the
hybrid radio/email system/network. There is an online training session
on using voice to transmit a Radiogram <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5fTIZ9xDpI>.

ARRL SECTION NEWS

Minnesota Section

Minnesota ARES officials have announced the appointment of Erik
Westgard, NY9D, as Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator- Technology. Westgard will also assume the position of the section's Exercise
Coordinator. He was a principal in designing Operation Downdraft last
fall, and he will play a major role in Downdraft 2.

Westgard has been an important asset to amateur radio in Minnesota: he
serves as the Medical Communications Coordinator for the Medtronic Twin
Cities Marathon, Red White and Boom, and Loppet Winter Festival. He was involved with the development of the state's 145.67 MHz packet network
and the deployment of D-STAR in Minnesota. His team has purchased more
than a dozen 30-foot tower/generator trailers recently. He is currently partnering with Minnesota VOAD on mesh video and disaster recovery
activities. Westgard is retired from AT&T as a Principal Technical
Consultant, and is a Senior Community Faculty Member in the Graduate
MIS Department at Metropolitan State University. [Westgard is a
frequent contributor to the ARES Letter. - Ed.]

Southern New Jersey Section

Thanks to an excellent relationship with the New Jersey South Region
Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coalition and member organization
Cooper University Hospital, the Southern New Jersey ARES program has
portable communications "pods." Custom built to specifications, the
pods are essentially communications trailers - without the trailer.

Oregon Section

The Klamath Basin Amateur Radio Association <http://www.w7vw.org/> held
an awards ceremony <https://arrloregon.org/index.php/2022/07/18/ruth-schorr-k7rfo-served-as-net-control-for-oen-for-more-than-half-a-century-at-age-97/>
on July 16, with the club's long-time member, Ruth Schorr, K7RFO, being presented with an award from officials of the Oregon Emergency Net
(OEN). At 97 years old, Ruth has served as net control for OEN for more
than half a century.

South Texas Section

Michael Livingston, AG5ZG, is the newly appointed Assistant Emergency Coordinator Liaison for the Cy-Fair CERT <https://www.cyfaircert.org/> (Community Emergency Response Team). As the northwest Assistant
Emergency Coordinator C ARES/CERT Liaison, Livingston will be focused
on:

· Facilitating a close working relationship between ARES D14 NW and
Cy-Fair CERT.

· Coordinating and driving joint efforts/participation between the two
teams during exercises and incidents.

· Providing updates on CERT activities and opportunities periodically
to the NW team during weekly nets and to the NW groups.io forum.

· Assisting NW Training team with the development and delivery of
CERT-related training topics for weekly training discussions.

· Recruiting CY-Fair CERT members to become radio amateurs and join
ARES.

Livingston is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Cy-Fair
CERT organization, and the Public Information Officer. He is also on
the Cy-Fair CERT Amateur Radio Committee (CFCARC), a member of the
Harris County CERT Leadership Team, and a member of the NW Harris
County CERT Leadership Team.

LETTERS

ARRL has done us a great service by publishing an article that goes
into significant detail about the disaster response of volunteer hams
in early June, 1972, when a flood destroyed a section of Rapid City,
South Dakota. [See the August 2022 issue of QST, page 89].

In the middle of the night, radio equipment was set up to provide communications from the city's Courthouse/EOC. The broadcast radio
station studio was destroyed, so public messages went out from the EOC
over an emergency broadcast channel, with the announcers working from
the EOC. That was the only way the public got bulletins.

Apparently, they had 2 meters at the EOC, and they had the
40/80/20-meter bands (depending on time of day) available within
2-meter relay distance from several volunteers. In the early hours they
handled incoming traffic (379 messages by a single station!) a good bit
of which was apparently official and the remainder was health and
welfare. As you might expect, that proved very difficult to deliver in
a town with tremendous flood damage.

Operators used HF to move official messages for Red Cross and others in
and out to coordinate the response. Hams in vehicles performed
reconnaissance using both VHF and HF -- whatever they had. Outbound
Health and Welfare messages apparently went by the droves -- there was
a mention of 1500 pieces by nine stations working together. Separately,
WA0UFS moved 500 outbound messages. I suspect basically all of these
were formal, using the Radiogram format, because back then, there
wasn't anything else.

The article gives lots of wise guidance of what works, and what
doesn't. People worked as long as 43 hours straight -- and they needed
relief and replacement. There are good discussions of prioritizing
traffic; lots to learn. This is well before "FEMA" was really
prominent, and so there wasn't an HSEEP format or anything, but the
Section Manager appears to have written this and gave us a LOT of
useful information. Worth reading! -- Gordon Gibby, KX4Z, Gainesville,
Florida

K1CE FOR A FINAL: PUT ON THE SHIRT

As you can imagine, I review a lot of online reports and videos each
month for fodder for this newsletter. The apparel of some of our
operators in EOCs and Red Cross shelters leaves a bit to be desired,
shall we say, delicately. Consider wearing a professional-appearing
polo shirt with the ARES logo and pressed khaki pants. You can purchase
a shirt here. <https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/133905>

Just sayin'. -- 73, Rick, K1CE

______________________________

ARES® RESOURCES

· Download the ARES Manual [PDF] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/ARES/ARESmanual2015.pdf>

· ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES_FR_Manual.pdf>

· ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-FILLABLE-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V2_1_1.pdf>

· ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-STANDARDIZED-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V1_2_2.doc>

· ARES Plan <http://www.arrl.org/ares-plan>

· ARES Group Registration
<http://www.arrl.org/ares-group-id-request-form>

· Emergency Communications Training <http://www.arrl.org/emergency-communications-training>

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 <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/fsd98.pdf> and submit
it to your local Emergency Coordinator.

ARRL RESOURCES

Join or Renew Today! <http://www.arrl.org/join> Eligible US-based
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Subscribe to NCJ -- the National Contest Journal
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_________

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