Comment: Previous bulletins have covered the aspects of one's obligation to family first. Still, there are Strike Teams that do make that commitment and dedication, as do key participants of a well prepared communications reserve, like the RACES, the OES Auxiliary Communications Service, or others. Strike Teams and key responders are for a short quick response to fill in until the slower mobilizing units can respond; then they retire.
Your questions are welcomed. Several have asked the following in one way or another: "What I've heard from RACES and the ARRL seems to assume that the RACES member should be willing to report to a (hopefully) preassigned duty station and remain there for several days in the event of a major disaster. Is this the case?"
Comment: Previous bulletins have covered the aspects of one's obligation to family first. Still, there are Strike Teams that do make that commitment and dedication, as do key participants of a well prepared communications reserve, like the RACES, the OES Auxiliary Communications Service, or others. Strike Teams and key responders are for a short quick response to fill in until the slower mobilizing units can respond; then they retire.
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Here are some of the events utilized in one area to help citizens become familiar with RACES and to train RACES participants:
The following was from a concerned FCC Amateur licensee:
Question: What role does direction finding have in the RACES, if any?
Response: Direction finding - the process of locating Radio Frequency signals by other radio equipment - has a tremendous role for Amateur Radio operators, particularly in urban areas. RACES units have been called upon to locate spurious signals from a variety of sources from malfunctioning equipment, such as stuck transmitters, to deliberate jamming of local government or other facilities. Contributed by: Fire Captain Willis H. Lamm, N6VZT
QUESTION: How do use Amateur Radio operators in your RACES unit? Adapted from an article by Ted Benson, WA6BEJ, Deputy RACES Radio Officer/Mobile Operations, San Diego County RACES as published in TAC ONE, vol. 1, issue 2.
Sometimes those who plan and execute an exercise worry about it going astray of its goal and possibly failing. Don't!
Plan it, but don't be concerned about it "failing"! An exercise should never be pulled off flawlessly and be expected or reported as perfect. Possibly a fire drill, but not a disaster exercise. It is a training vehicle for the unusual, the unexpected, the extraordinary. Each one should result in improved plans, systems, procedures, knowledge, capabilities, and preparedness. If such be the case, then no exercise is EVER a failure. In emergency communications there are times when the only reliable communication path is via a relay station. Howard Shepherd, Manager, MacArthur Relay and frequent Alternate Net Control for the California Emergency Services Net, offers a perspective of how Official Relay stations serve a vital purpose:
In an emergency the fire chief, police chief and mayor don't go to a home and run things from there, but to the emergency operations center or designated command post.
The following DEMOB (demobilization - pronounced "demobe") CRITIQUE SHEET is from the experience of Bill Pennington, WA6SLA, OES Region IV Radio Officer and ARRL DEC for the Central Sierra Counties:
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RACES BulletinsCA State OES began the Bulletins in the early 1950's to assist agencies and radio operators to become more familiar with RACES. They were issued periodically until 1985, at which time they began to be issued weekly over voice and digital radio systems of Amateur Radio and in print. Originally intended for California, increased demand, and a 1988 request by the ARRL for national distribution, led to their eventual worldwide distribution. Archives
December 1994
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