Well, it does happen, more so in units with strong and effective leadership that screens out those that lack capability and dedication. In such units there are almost always those who respond at what seems to be some sacrifice of family or personal affairs. At some level we've all seen it, whether radio officer, communications officer, emergency coordinator, director of communications, section manager, search and rescue captain, volunteer fire chief, coordinator, pilots or communications specialist.

What brings such dedication? What causes people like that to be so committed in time and effort? Perhaps it's an inner mental perspective or viewpoint, coupled with a sense of responsibility that says, in effect: "Once I've committed to this program, call me and I will respond. Whatever is needed, wherever, I'll try to be there."

Whatever it is, these natural leaders are the "gems" that get the impossible done. Like the FCC Amateur Licensee who was strapped to the skids of a helicopter and placed atop a mountain to help establish a relay link into an inaccessible canyon.

In an emergency this type responder is an extremely valuable asset. Key participants in Search and Rescue or Drowning Accident Recovery units are often of this type and worth their weight in gold. From them you never hear "I don't feel like doing it" or "There isn't anyone available." When needed, they are there. Period. They lead by "doing".

This is not to say that family or personal affairs are not vital to a unit participant, nor that they should not have first call on a responders priorities. Rather, it is to point out that there are those who ALWAYS find a way to be where they are needed and when. What is it that brings that dedication? Well, you name it. Whatever it is called it exists in more instances than we realize.

As the year becomes 1998 we take this opportunity to thank all emergency unit responders where ever you are, what ever your unit and level of participation. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

misinformation is likely why REACT participants, sometimes even those with an Amateur license, are refused participation in RACES units.

Query: " So the RACES isn't only for Amateurs as trained communicators?"

Response: That's right. It does not have to be. Communicators can come from a variety of backgrounds, not just Amateur Radio. However, to actually operate on the Amateur Radio Service frequencies, a license is required, but experienced non-amateur communicators can be used under the supervision of an appropriate licensee.

That use of non-amateurs on Amateur Radio frequencies really IS NOT what this is all about and it is seldom done, but in an emergency could if needed and handled properly. Rather, it is that participants in an emergency communications unit can handle many non- Amateur communications that are of inestimable value to government.

Part of the changing scene - that so disturbs some Amateurs - is government's reliance on wired systems (say computers) and the jurisdictions government-frequency radios. Yet, there is a place for emergency communications on Amateur Radio bands. However, the fact of life today is that a unit that cannot expand its visions and usefulness beyond the Amateur Radio bands is likely self-limiting and headed for eventual disbanding. Of course there are exceptions, such as in rural areas where government communications systems may be quite limited, making reliance on Amateur Radio frequencies a fact of life in that area.

In today's complex communications arena there are many systems useful in emergencies. A communicator may come from a computer background for instance. Following the Northridge earthquake the CA State OES ACS supplied several computer specialists for communications needs. None of them were licensed Amateurs, but one did later become a licensee. An emergency is no respector of the type of system that may be knocked out of service or need augmentation. There may be a need to support a vital system other than radio, and astute units are well aware of this fact.

One source of trained communicators, for both the ACS and the RACES, is the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). There are many Amateur licensees in the CAP, but holding the Amateur license doesn't in and of itself make them a good communicator. What does lead to becoming a good communicator is the discipline that CAP teaches and requires on its frequencies. Amateur Radio also has its area of discipline training: highly efficient nets, dx operations, emergency nets to name a few. But just rag-chewing (talking at random between licensees) does not mean one is a trained communicator. As has been pointed out, there is need in government emergency communications units for communicators beyond those who just operate radio.

Response: An explanation about the RACES and its relation to the Auxiliary Communications Service may be in order to help in understanding this topic.

The RACES in the FCC regulations is the designator of a DEFINED SERVICE (under the regulations). It is left to the sponsoring local or state government to administer it. That includes who can participate in the unit. Lets repeat that: it is the sponsoring government that determines who can be in the unit, not the FCC.

FCC regulations purposely do not direct HOW the AUTHORIZED functions are to be run. They do not restrict the service to Amateurs however much some may think that to be so. The RACES is an authorized SERVICE, which - IF and WHEN an FCC licensee operates on certain frequencies - it requires an Amateur Radio Service license. Otherwise, there is broad flexibility in what the unit participants may do on behalf of government so long as it isn't on Amateur frequencies.

Like other authorized services (law, fire, etc.) the FCC regulations ONLY apply as a REGULATION (contrasted to an AUTHORIZATION) when there is operation ON THE AMATEUR frequencies. ONLY THEN does it require an Amateur license, otherwise none is required to be part of that authorized function of local or state government. The regulations may not say that in so many words, but that is their overall effect from a legal perspective. If you do an unbiased survey of RACES units around the country you can discover ample evidence that there are those that have non-amateur participants.

The desire to limit the RACES to Amateur licensees is in itself a dilution of the service. It is the very reason that the RACES failed in some places; that and operators who said "I only use the radio, don't ask me to do anything else."

One of the obvious reasons for the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) is that it can include the RACES as part of its over-all umbrella. That means - notwithstanding the above explanation that RACES isn't limited to Amateurs - if the locals insist the RACES has to be so limited, then that limited RACES function could operate within the larger ACS.

Continues next week.

(This bulletin is in response to specific questions, not an attempt to tell one service or another how it must be run. It points out what we have learned over a long period of time.

Response: The situation is the same for any unit supplying emergency communications, not just the RACES, so let's talk in generic terms of EMCOM (emergency communication) units, whether the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), RACES, or others:

1. A "declared emergency" IS NOT NEEDED to activate an EMCOM unit unless there is a state or local law that specifically requires that there be a declaration. There may be a few jurisdictions where this may apply, but by-and-large it does not.
   
   
2. "Activation" can be a phone call to the Radio Officer as a 'heads-up'; or as a "come on in just-in-case", or "we'd sure appreciate your joining us at the meeting today." It does NOT have to be a "call out the troops!"
   
   
3. A "COMMUNICATIONS" emergency does not need to exist first. EMCOM unit personnel have never required a "COMMUNICATIONS" emergency, although one may exist to a degree. However, if there FIRST had to be a full-blown communications emergency the agency may not be able to reach its unit's people. In fact, in one incident in which the agency waited too long they had to send their sheriff's deputies out by car to get their EMCOM people!
   
   
4. The EMCOM unit can be utilized anytime the agency decides to do so unless a state law specifies otherwise. See "A" & "G".
   
   
5. A prudent AGENCY official will notify at least the Radio Officer in ANY situation that any other response official is notified, even those situations where there is not yet a threat. Consider a hazmat spill. Many such reports are benign, but they can easily escalate into a major event explosively.
   
   
6. Skywarn is an example of a use before an emergency. A tornado (or hurricane) may or may not become an emergency. While Skywarn is usually a stand-alone service, if a local jurisdiction wanted to include it as an EMCOM function, why should it be necessary to wait for the damage to start? It would not make sense. We use this to illustrate the fact that it's not necessary for the emergency to be in effect. A tornado or hurricane is potentially devastating. In yet another instance, should the community that is alerted for a possible flood wait until the levee breaks to call out its EMCOM unit? That wouldn't serve the possible need, would it?
   
   
7. An aspect that some Amateur Radio Service licensees overlook is that there is a major difference in activating (involving) a unit, and operations ON the Amateur Frequencies. Some people seem to equate the two as one. FCC regulations only apply to actual usage of the Amateur frequencies - NOT to any other aspect of the units operations. While it MAY be that there will be a need to use the Amateur frequencies, it MAY be the unit personnel can provide better service using agency radios. More and more units are converting to the broader application of full support of ALL forms of Public Safety SYSTEMS (radio, cell, satellite, microwave, computer networks, etc.) and in the process, discovering a vastly rewarding involvement!

"P.C." to discuss such issues, but failing to do so is a sure formula for failure. It is essential to weed out those who don't have the mind set to fit in very early and, preferably, before any individual is signed up and sworn in. Club or other affiliation influences must be left home in order to function properly. Acceptance comes before one can be a success part of a team effort.

Preparedness among volunteers often includes activities well outside the realm of being a radio operator. However, many Amateurs still think that their sole purpose is to send and receive radio messages. At one time in government that was the one and only mission. As Public Safety and other communications systems improved in quantum leaps in urban environments, the need for such radio emergency communications shrunk. Now, where you have volunteers with skills other than just operating a radio, you have a far more viable support resource. Some Amateurs disagree with this concept because they don't want to do anything other than send and receive messages. That's their choice, but they will not be invited to participate as an unpaid professional in Public Safety. Any volunteer must put the needs and desires of the served organization above their personal or outside organization agendas.

This discussion is addressed to both volunteers and government paid staff they serve. There is a very good reason for this. Both are partners and not separate and distinct. At one time (and perhaps still) there was a tendency for one government to tell or suggest how other governments deal with volunteers. The volunteers were (or are) not included because they are improperly considered to be an outside, separate, doomsday resource. If you do this, you have added a very big factor to the Formula for Failure. Local governments must provide their volunteers a continuing curriculum of People, Procedures and Preparedness. That is the very heart of the "Auxiliary Communications Service: Lessons Learned" workshops for states, counties and cities.

(end of series)

(continues next week)

(Continues next week)

Response: This is a rhetorical question with many answers. It is an area over which the reader may have no control, but don't overlook the influence you and others may have to effect change for the better.

Successful emergency service management is based on three major points:

1. People.
2. Procedures.
3. Preparedness

Success is not possible without fine tuning all three. This invariably means change to achieve success. Change is not popular with some people, but no improvements can be made without change. By the same token, some changes can be damaging. Sometimes change for the good comes from the top down or from within your own unit. Organizational politics or the political facts of life, as they are often called, may preclude a top down change for the good. But that is no reason you can't effect improvements within your specific sphere of activity.

1. PEOPLE. Who is responsible for emergency management? Thus is something you as an individual have no control. It is important to understand the very big differences from one jurisdiction to another.What is the title of the emergency management principal? This frequently gives a clue to the scope and authority of that individual. Do your laws or codes specifically describe the scope and authority of the position and its relationship in what might be called the chain of command?
   
   At one end of the emergency management spectrum is a title of coordinator. This may be a planning and coordination position with no command authority, with all operational decisions and actions being the responsibility of others outside of the emergency management office. If so, then in a sense, the word "management" is a misnomer. The position is a planner and not responsible for the execution of response and recovery.
   
   At the other end of the emergency management spectrum is the position title of director, manager, administrator, officer, or chief. This person, by code or convention, does or can take charge during an incident that may require the use of three or more government departments. This position is usually held responsible for all of the principal elements: People, Procedures, and Preparedness.
   
   

(continues next week)

Some of the communications we live with daily are so transparent that we do not realize it is based on a dependent system; and that dependent systems DO fail, sometimes when most needed. Four dependent systems are the telephone, the cellular phone, the automobile, and computer networks.

The dependent system of the auto is severely tested during gas rationing days when we have to queue up to get fuel so the auto can move at all. The fuel delivery process is the dependent system that makes the automobile useful; i.e. so we can move about and inter-communicate with people and places.

The dependent aspect of the telephone is a network of switching centers and countless miles of wire that connects them. When these go down, the telephone - like the auto - is useless. It won't take us anywhere to communicate with anyone.

The dependent aspect of the cellular phone is a wave switching system that allows the movement from cell to cell, then to connect to a remote system to reach the desired number many miles away. When overwhelmed, as in emergencies when thousands try to use it, it can't do the job. It too, depends on the aforementioned landline telephone system. Most people forget that it is simply an extension of the POTS - Plain Old Telephone System. Due to the nature of the cellular system it is quickly subject to overload for several reasons, including the media types who call their office and leave the connection open to preserve the call for the duration of the event.

The dependent aspect of the computer system is the wires that make it work. When they are damaged (backhoe, train wreck, explosion along a telephone link, fire in the server room at the office) the system fails. The computer network is a complex system that can be brought to its knees quickly by the slightest glitch , a rampant virus, sheer ignorance or poor planning.

So, what does this have to do with emergency management? Just this: in the day-to-day use of these four systems it's far too easy to become so accustomed to them that we do not anticipate their non-use when needed the most: at the very time we need command and decision communications with TOP-LEVEL decision makers who essentially rely on one or more of these four seemingly transparent systems.

control functions, by radio. Sometimes the drama is even heard and seen on national television - a system that is based on radio waves. For instance, during the California Floods of '97, there was a dramatic rescue by helicopter of a couple from New Jersey found standing knee deep in water on top of their flooded car after having been stranded in the cold dark hours of the previous night.

It is an essentially proven fact that radio works in hundreds - nay, thousands - of ways when resourceful people are tasked to make it do so. Managers typically forget that the transparency of a system leaves them open to a disaster they seldom foresee: the catastrophic loss of it at the very time they need essential command and decision communications with TOP-LEVEL decision makers - those who ALWAYS use the transparent system to intercommunicate.

But, you ask, "where do we find resourceful people when most needed? Our technical staff is good, but not noted for being THAT resourceful!"

We would reply: For resourceful problem solvers look to the volunteer communications units, like the Auxiliary Communi- cations Service (ACS) with its unpaid professionals who are predominantly FCC Amateur Radio Service licensees. This provides the immense talents of a pool of skilled people who are natural problem solvers. Give them a problem that CAN'T be solved, and viola, they present you with a solution!

And, you say, "but they need to know our system ahead of time". Again, we respond: Then understand that having the ACS means an ON-GOING day-to-day involvement of its key leaders who should be IN your agency as many days of the year as possible. That way they WILL know your systems. See our other bulletins on how to use them in familiarization of your agency, its nuances, protocol and systems.

(end of 4 part series.)