Following EMC296 "RACES - Amateurs Only??" we received the following E-mail of historical interest from Norm Goodkin, K6YXH. (Edited and issued with permission.)
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Exercise en masse! An exercise with over 950 participants on three levels involving the County EOC, the City EOC, and a full scale field and hospital exercise. That's a large exercise.
From over a decade of responding to queries about EMCOMM (EMergency COMMunications) units from around the country we get a familiar insight into problem areas by the sheer commonality of the questions, comments and concerns.
When I joined State OES California as the State RACES Officer and Chief State Radio Officer, in 1991, one of my first acts was to go over a 4 page form that each applicant had completed on their registration on joining the unit. Initially, it was to get to know each one better, by reviewing their skills and interests.
Once upon a time an Emergency Management Agency manager had a tale to tell, and an admission to make, that bears hearing.
Experience can be a very hard teacher at times, especially if it keeps repeating itself; like critique after critique that concludes "we didn't have sufficient communications capability, especially in the early stages of the disaster."
After we developed the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) in California, and it came in use in other parts of the country, we were asked if the ACS was developed deliberately to "get around the FCC 1-hour rule?"
From RACES HISTORY files including answers by Stan Harter:
From our RACES history files here's an extract from an e-mail where the writer said:
After I became State RACES Officer for California in l991 it was interesting to watch Stan Harter with his RACES Bulletins and his RACPAC. I was amazed at the breadth of his knowledge and its real-world application. People from all over the U. S. were
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ACS BulletinsThe Bulletins are addressed to the Emergency Management Agency (with sub-addresses to others) with the intent that the Radio Officer, ACS Coordinator or other unit participant will deliver them to the agency coordinator, and discuss their topics. |
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TO: Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
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FROM: Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services