Perception of Amateur Radio in EmComm

[ab0wr]

I was recently going through FEMA training course is-288 to see what was in it. The course is titled: "The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management".

Imagine my surprise when I found the following quotes concerning Amateur Radio (the only mentions of Amateur Radio in the document, BTW).

Quote[/b] ]Radio Communication Services: Some voluntary agencies have licensed radio amateurs to provide emergency radio communication to fellow agencies and local government personnel who are responding to the disaster.

Quote[/b] ]American Radio Relay League (ARRL) The American Radio Relay League responds when communication lines are damaged or destroyed during disaters. ARRL is a national volunteer organization of licensed radio amateurs in the United States. ARRL-sponsored Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) provide volunteer radio communications services to Federal, State, County, and local governments, as well as to voluntary agencies. Members volunteer not only their services but also their privately owned radio communications equipment.

What happened to the "value of the amateur service to the public" as quoted in Part 97?

What happened to the provision of health and welfare communications for the public so that loved ones can be informed of the status of victims?

It's just like I was taught in government class so many years ago: "we the people" doesn't mean "we the government". The same thing applies to Part 97, "the public" doesn't mean "the government" or "the NGO's".

This training document should stress to the public that amateur radio provides a valuable role in providing communications out of a disaster area TO EVERY INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN, not just to government agencies and NGO's.

If we, the amateur radio community, *really* want amateur radio to survive in the future, we need to make the public aware of how we can help them *individually* during a disaster. Just being recognized as a backup common carrier for use by government agencies and NGO's won't cut it. We need to make it understood to the public that when "Mabel" has been flooded out and has lost her phone book and her internet email address book, that amateur radio could play a key role in notifying her relatives that she is ok. #

Why doesn't this FEMA training document stress this role for amateur radio? Where did they get the information that was put in the document? Could it have been from the ARRL?

What recommendations do *you* have for getting FEMA to *really* recognize in IS-288 what the Amateur Radio Service (as opposed to the ARRL) has to offer during disasters?

Oh, BTW, amateur radio is not recognized as the Amateur Radio Service in this document. All references are titled Amateur Radio Relay League. As if all amateurs volunteering their time and money during disasters are ARRL members. Funny, huh?

tim ab0wr

[ab8ro]

Quote[/b] ]
ARRL is a national volunteer organization of licensed radio amateurs in the United States.


Well, I don't know about the rest of it, but this is NOT what the ARRL is. From the ARRL website.

Quote[/b] ]
ARRL is the national membership association for Amateur Radio operators.


And THAT is why I am a member of the ARRL. Because it's a membership association that represents radio amateurs.

They go on to say what they do:

Quote[/b] ]
Today ARRL, with approximately 152,000 members, is the largest organization of radio amateurs in the United States. The ARRL is a not-for-profit organization that:

promotes interest in Amateur Radio communications and experimentation

represents US radio amateurs in legislative matters, and

maintains fraternalism and a high standard of conduct among Amateur Radio operators.


The word volunteer is nowhere in that statement nor is there any implicit connection to emergency operations. While I have no issue with helping out as needed, it is NOT my focus as a ham and I have no interest in joining an association who's primary focus is emergency communications.

ARES is sponsored by the ARRL and IS such an organization. I'm pretty sure that they meant ARES and not the ARRL.

In fact, from the ARES website

Quote[/b] ]
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment 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 for membership in the ARES.


So one doesn't have to be an ARRL member to volunteer with ARES. And the purpose of ARES is as your course describes for the ARRL.

I think they simply made a mistake. Perhaps you should let the ARRL know?

[ne3r]

Quote[/b] (ab0wr @ Aug. 05 2006,10:11)]Why doesn't this FEMA training document stress this role for amateur radio? Where did they get the information that was put in the document? Could it have been from the ARRL?
1. The ARRL wants to be in bed with FEMA - Grant money
2. FEMA wants to be seen as the savior of everything to justify the billions of tax dollars they waste, and then bug congress for more. Of course they wouldn't want us out there functioning without them. The NGO's are the same, they want to be seen as running the show so they can cry poor and get you to donate money to them.

That being said, if I'm called up to assist with emergency communications, I really don't care what state or federal agency, or NGO I'm supporting. I doubt I'll get a call that says, go set up by the ball field with a sign that says, "Let your relitives know you are OK via ham radio" nobody will know you are there, just serve the public.

73
Joe
N3PAQ

[al7n]

QUOTE] I doubt I'll get a call that says, go set up by the ball field with a sign that says, "Let your relitives know you are OK via ham radio" nobody will know you are there,[/QUOTE]

Well, if whoever or whatever is supposed to be letting folks' relatives know they are OK, and #you find out they are bungling the job (some of this happened last year during the gulf coast incidents), you might be able to go set up at that ballfield or wherever and do some good....
IF you (and whoever you contact) are trained and practiced in handling this kind of traffic. #

That would be "serving the public" ....you won't get a call to do it, you'll have to decide to do it on your own and make sure somebody spreads the word.

[ab0wr]

Quote[/b] (al7n @ Aug. 08 2006,12:20)]QUOTE] I doubt I'll get a call that says, go set up by the ball field with a sign that says, "Let your relitives know you are OK via ham radio" nobody will know you are there,

Well, if whoever or whatever is supposed to be letting folks' relatives know they are OK, and #you find out they are bungling the job (some of this happened last year during the gulf coast incidents), you might be able to go set up at that ballfield or wherever and do some good....
IF you (and whoever you contact) are trained and practiced in handling this kind of traffic. #

That would be "serving the public" ....you won't get a call to do it, you'll have to decide to do it on your own and make sure somebody spreads the word.[/QUOTE]
Hams *should* get a call to do this, from the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and whoever else sets up shelters for the victims. The big question is why they don't.

As documented in QST, the Red Cross wouldn't even let hams into their shelters to take health and welfare messages.

The "excuse" given was that if they couldn't get hams to do this in all their shelters then they couldn't do it in any of their shelters.

Of course they disregarded the hypocrisy of why they were setting up shelters for some people if they couldn't set up shelters for everyone.

The sad part is that this is not a "glamorous" function and doesn't carry grant money with it from the Fed's. So the ARRL has let this function gradually slid away over the past 20 years and now no one even considers it anymore. For localized disasters, cell phones have taken over this function. But for widespread disasters with major infrastructure damage, it is still a useful function.

tim ab0wr

[kf4lne]

Amateur Radio: It works when eberything else don't