Are Today's Hams Ready To Handle Emergencies?

Since the events of September 11th, I have read many messages regarding the role and acceptance (or lack thereof) of amateur radio operators in their communities with regards to emergency communications.  As the NYC District EC for ARES and the Citywide RACES Radio Officer, I'd like to weigh in with some thoughts of reality.

Over the years I have heard many hams tell me that they either:
a) belong to a club that supports emergency communications and they are part of the group that will provide the same when the time comes
b) are fully capable of non-AC power operation, have all the needed rigs and antennas to be that much needed ham that comes to the rescue
c) will come out and be ready to help out when a "real" emergency happens
d) applaud and support the efforts of those of us in ARES &/or RACES because we help remind the government why ham radio exists and not to take away "our" frequencies

While those trying two weeks after 9/11 did produce some over 250 hams to help us in the Red Cross shelters, respite centers, logistics support centers, OEM locations, Net Control operators, etc. out of over 500 who volunteered, most were either already active in ARES/RACES and/or came from outside the NYC area!  Nowhere to be found were many of those who stated to my face the above four statements who never joined/trained/served with either ARES or RACES in non-emergency public support events or training.

I continue to see comments in various threads all over the internet (and even here at QRZ) that they are ready to do their part, but never an indication that they are being trained in an organized manner with a local ARES or RACES group.  Without this seemingly mundane training/"standing on a street corner" for a walk-a-thon or parade, you will never have the practical knowledge to perform when it is really needed.  All the book knowledge, CW speed, equipment cache will not help you if you have no experience.

A mentor from my twenties jokingly coined an 11th Commandment: Though shalt not kid thyself

Please seek out your local ARES/RACES group and be willing to be "teachable".  After a while you will truly be the kind of resource that will be used when it counts.

--
73
Charles J. Hargrove - N2NOV/NNN0BCE (Navy MARS)
NYC ARES District Emerg. Coord./RACES Radio Officer/Skywarn Coord.
NYDXA SWL & Scanner Net Wed. @ 9PM 147.000/136.5 PL
http://www.n2nov.net

 

Way to state it!

Many many hams think their equipment is best and the person with the best and most gear is most equipped during emergencies!

NOT TRUE! It's the training, experience, and willingness to assist in whatever means necessary which creates a "leader" and "effective emergency communicator!" Of course schedules may be filled with family, work, etc which could exclude training events.

However, if self-appreciation is something which is to be gained, it's the feeling of respect & appreciation received from those who are assisted that make one most proud!

(Not everyone can play net controller, go hiking into the forest, using CB or FRS, or "face the extremes" during hazards, but would you attempt to if asked? Would you attend training seminars if you were available? Would you assist training the younger generations if asked? Can you be effective?)

 

I'm not fully understanding what you are saying.
  If you had 250 "volunteers" for radio communications..thats a heck of alot of ops.
  Further, were these ops, "operating" or doing non-communication tasks?
  Also, I'm not getting what you guys were doing there for 2 weeks. If the object of "emergency" services in the sense of radio communications; are you saying it took two weeks for the government to get back online?
  If government communications was up, there was no more need for operators and may be the reason they stayed home.

 

Two hundred and fifty operators in two weeks is not many at all.  Consider the following facts;
1. Hams are volunteers with jobs, families and assorted
other resposibilities. These individuals may not be able to all spend two weeks solid being fully involved.
2. Two weeks is 336 hours.  That 250 becomes less than one operator per hour--on average only.
3. The government radio communications was pretty much back on line in a day or two.  However, New York
City is a very large place.  Other areas needed services
from the government, also.  Ham volunteers helped
relieve the load on government radio systems for an
awful large amount traffic.
The aftermath of 9-11 has reminded this ham that he is
still needed by ARES and RACES, so I'm signing back up
after several years of inactivity.
Next to teaching ham classes, ARES, Civil Defense,
(remember them?), and RACES activities were the
most rewarding in satisfaction.  I always stressed to my
ham students that being trained and ready was a major
part of being a ham.
Your EC's and EMA folks have reserved a space for all
of us!
                     73,  Cal  K4JSR

 

Well, lets examine the true problem.....
Most communities today including EMS consider Ham Radio a joke,
even though in some rare instances we have and continue to serve
a great community service. A local ham was told by city council that
his antennas were not wanted in his neighborhood community. When
exhausting all of his appeals he said to the city council they should think
of this when local amatures turn out as volunteers at community functions.
He was told that the community didn't ask for their assistance but they keep
coming on their own and wont stay home. The problem is we are viewed as a
bunch of seniors with alot of time on our hands who push to be a part of
community activities to serve our own ego's. What ? News to you
Look at the clubs who insist on being a part of every parade, golf tournament,
halloween outing ,air show and school event. Thinking our exposure to the community
will increase our ranks we will show up for bike-a-thons , picnics . river regattas....
you name it we want to be a part of it!!!!!!!!! This ofcourse improves our skills and
allows us to fulfill our desperate need for community service, unfortunately as we
continue to age ......... The question comes up who are those old guys with their
walkie talkies We continue to persevere in our readiness for dooms day and whatever
natural disaster may come our way. Too bad we are not appreciated or welcomed as
public servants. The best line of all ...... during a marathon meeting a group of hams
congregated at a public park. Some local residents asked if they were a part of a
work release program ..... So it is , just another day in paradise.

 

This is a great showing where some are interesed to increase their skills.  I have been in several emergency situations and have operated on the 40 meter ssb as net control. Even though I claim and am a 100 percent cw operator.  My RACES training came with the 10 meter band as that was what was used for training purposes back before 2 meter fm and repeaters. Now just where do we start is a good question. I can't give you a good answer to that at this moment, but would suggest that it should come from ham radio clubs. Also get active with the National traffic system (NTS), whereby one can lean how to format a message in message form and join the ssb traffic nets. Forget about cw and train for ssb emergency traffic handling, let the cw operators take care of the cw part.
    Now for the good information: ARRL has many programs to consider. Have your radio clubs organize a group of interested people that are really interested in emergency operation, if and when there is a need. Find or get in touch with a emergency co-ordinator and get the ball rolling. Put on the air practice and once you get rolling, you will then find many others will become interested. Become a leader and not a follower and when there is a will, there is a way. I am sure there are a few active nets on the 75 meter phone band, so why not check it out.

 

I was there!

Here was one day:

We reported in to Brooklyn, from Suffolk
County (on Long Island) some 65 miles away.

One of us a Two-Way Radio engineer / consultant.
One of us a Medical Doctor.
One of us a Police Officer.
One of us a Carpenter.
One of us a Professional Automotive Mechanic.
One of us owns a large Ford Dealership.
One of us manages a machine shop.
All of us are American, All of us are hams.
If it could walk, fly, float or drive,
we could fix it.

So, we read the checklist of required
materials for each volunteer before responding.
We all brought similar items.

Some of the items we brought (per person):
1) A 25 amp power supply.
1) 50 watt dual band mobile radio or,
a 50 watt 2 meter mobile.
1) HT (dual band)with spare batteries and chargers
(both base and vehicular).
2) Mag mount dual band gain antennae.
2) 50 foot RG-8U extensions with connectors.
2) 100 foot ac cords.
2) 4 outlet gang boxes.
1) Handtruck
2) Disposable work suits.
1) Pair of Work boots.
1) Pair of spare shoes.
Several pairs of gloves, hats, socks, pants,
shirts and safety goggles.
Not to mention the respirators and
other safety equipment.
We also brought our own food and water.
We were prepared to spend an average
of 12 hour shifts.

Upon arrival, we waited approx 4 hours for ID cards
and assignments at The Red Cross
Headquarters at Cadman Plaza.

The ID cards were never issued.
We were told to wait outside
for our rides to Manhattan.

At this point, our "team" of ops
waited outside for our rides to the
"top secret" locations.

One gentleman (from another group)
offered to take our pictures for prosperity sake.

But know, we weren't allowed to.
Somehow, Cadman Plaza became
part of the "WTC Crime Scene".

One of the "I'm in charge, look at my
official Red Cross Badge" types came
out and threatened to have us arrested
for taking pictures of "the crime scene".
Even the police officers stationed
outside found humor in that remark.

Our van finally arrived.
It was driven by a 20 year old that only
arrived in New York the day before.

We were supposed to drop the first guy
off at 25th street and Lexington Avenue,
at the 68th Armory.

But no...........
The kid wouldn't listen and dropped him off
at the 68th street armory instead on
Lexington avenue.

43 blocks way and sporting a handtruck
with 70 pounds of equipment, the operator
called net control from his HT and informed
net control of the situation.

What did net control do?
Net control replies with the following:
Tough, too bad. Walk or take a taxi!
We don't have a driver in the area to
pick you up.

We tried to inform net control that
we were only a few minutes away
and wanted to go back and pick up
the operator.

Our driver wanted to hear "the order"
from Red Cross HQ himself.
However, that never happened.
Net Control was busy for twenty
minutes, taking only emergency traffic
There was no emergency traffic.

Next came a message from the operator
at the armory this guy was supposed to
be at. It seems he was on duty, approaching
34 hours (yes, thirty four) and his Nextel
battery was going dead.

He just wanted to know if anybody had
a Nextel charger nearby. The response
from net control?

Net Control: Does your Nextel work
on this repeater?
Shelter Operator: No
Net Control: Too bad, we don't care!

A few minutes later, I got dropped
off at the assigned "secret location"
to provide "emergency communications".

The shelter manager has the following:
1) Nextel with spare battery and charger.
1) Motorola 800 mhz Cosmo series
radio on the city's OEM frequency.
2) Hardwired, desktop, multiline office phones.
2) Radio equipped NYPD officers and
2) Radio equipped NYPD school safety agents.

But, they needed us to provide emergency
communications!

Apparently, only ham radio operators
know how to accurately count and report
the proper number of blankets and
bags of ice needed via a repeater.

Keep in mind the following:

None of us expected to go to Ground Zero
and dig for survivors or perform any heroics.

We just reported for duty and did what was asked of us.
We were there to do what we were needed
to do, not to do what we wanted to do.
If it meant putting mayonaise on sandwiches
or picking up garbage, it would have been just
as important as providing emergency communications
or digging at Ground Zero.
We would have done whatever was needed.

Our Medical Doctor, well.....

He spent the first 6 hours at HQ's listening
to a paramedic (volunteer) whine and moan
about how routine it has become for
him to save lives.
And how he was so needed at the Red Cross.

Our Medical Doctor was finally given a
choice assignment and sent in the field.

He was sent to an all night pharmacy
on Flatbush Avenue to get cough drops
for the paramedic.
Thank God he went to medical school!

Seventeen (17) hours after being dropped off
for our 12 hour shift, the van comes to
pick me up. I'm finally re-united with my
group.

All of us (except the Medical Doctor)
were at different shelter locations,
providing "emergency communications".

We all laughed as we compared the pure
unadulterated crap we heard over the
radio that night from net control.

Imagine volunteering somewhere...

You give your time, energy and effort
(at your own expense) at the scene
of such a horrific event and they
treat you like a piece of crap.

When you get back to HQ, they want you
to wait 2 hours to debrief you.
They want you describe your feelings
of guilt and horror of having to
have watched people eating baloney
and cheese sandwiches and of having
to endure the trauma of seeing people
sleep in cots.
You must discuss this with them or else
you can't leave!

Our group rode home together that morning
pondering several things:

Why did we drive so far to be treated like that?
Couldn't they have found people closer to abuse?
Why did we buy all this unneccessary equipment?
Why did we put up with that crap?

Because we volunteered, that's why!

The ARRL said 565 hams volunteered
in NYC. Why are your numbers lower?

The ARRL said, you wouldn't release
the names of the volunteers because
of "privacy" issues.

I think you people don't really know
who volunteered, nor do I think
you care.
As long as YOUR name, callsign and picture
made it into every publication possible, that's
what you cared about.

You even did a one minute clip on FOX-5 TV News
about YOUR involvement at GROUND ZERO.

Next time your group needs volunteers, BITE ME!

I'll still volunteer out here.

We didn't volunteer to put your puss in the news.
We volunteered because our Country, our
State and our friends were in need.

So, go ahead, bully and badger more
people into not volunteering next time.
Get it out and in the open.
Piss them off now, don't wait.
You'll save them the on scene embarrassment
later.

Best Regards,
Dennis

 

I often wondered what the ARES and other amateur groups in NYC did after 9-11. I can understand some of the stories that have been written in this column but the most horrible story is the last one where the hams were used as GOFERS or what ever unnecessary tasks they were needed to do.

These comments struck home because yesterday I visited the Emergency Communications Officer in my county because I just assumed the position of County EC.

During one situation we had here due to a hurricane, hams that worked in the EOC were asked to move cots, food and many other things to shelters. This situation will never happen again. The city and country have enough people to do those tasks.

The Hams did provide good service during disasters here such as tornados and hurricanes, of that I am proud. But we are faced with a lack of volunteers. Our town is probably about 250,000 and our club has about 180 members.

But when the members are needed for sky warn observers, or to provide communications there seem to be a group of about 15 who respond. I suppose this may be typical I don't know. The number of hams in and around the NYC area I just cant imagine even why the hams had to come from 60 miles away.

I had now read much about the hams and emergency communications in the 9-11 disaster. Maybe there was nothing to write about.

ALL YOU HAMS who provided communications in NYC lets hear from you, tell us what you done.

73's

WA4FKI

 

Just a thought, and maybe this is really way out there but, what is the one thing that all the other services mentioned in these postings, police, fire, ems, governmental etc. have that ham radio ops do not?

I work in a service industry with a group of field service technicians that report to me who are sent out into the field to provide repair services, mostly in emergencies.  My people have this thing that demands a certain amount of respect, immediate identity and authority.

What is one of the things young children are told about strangers and what to do if they are in trouble.  "Go ask for help from anyone in any type UNIFORM".

While I am not an amateur involved in emergency work or assistance, UNIFORMS are the one thing that identify a person wearing it as an authority figure.  That's what uniforms are for - to provide identity.  Even the UPS man is in a uniform.  Just imagine the above mentioned services without uniforms reporting to job assignments in their street clothes.  Respect for these services would vanish quickly.

I may be wrong but I have never seen amateurs performing actual relief work in a disaster area or exercise but I envision them as guys or gals walking around with HT's in sneakers and jeans trying to get some respect.  That just will not work.

Perhaps if there was some official nationwide Amateur Radio Emergency Response Uniform, we would be better received and looked upon as a real organization of PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATORS.

This may sound really way out there but, it just came to me and I needed to put it in print.  I know uniforms change people perceptions of the individuals wearing them.  Been there done that.

K2WH






   

 

I have to agree with the above post. One other point to consider, it would also ID you from a distance as to whether you belong there or not.

Suppose an orange vest with a logo and your call and amateur radio emergeny communication service on it.(or whatever works - just my suggestion) This would also speed thing up as to no ID's would need to be issued. Just report in.


As for the "crap", if what you say is true and accurate (I wasn't there so I can't say it isn't) then I don't blame you (or anyone else after reading this) for not wanting to volinteer. NOONE should be treated like that.

I have no problem with doing "peon work" if that is really needed and there are plenty of others with my skills to handle the other things. It is important to someone or they wouldn't be asking. I would cook for the whole "army" for instance (you think that wouldn't be greatly appriciated? - & its not radio)


Volinteers are there to HELP - Let them! And remember they VOLINTEERED they don't HAVE to be there. (think about what they are/may be giving up to be there. Family, work, etc.


Burn me if you want to - I've been in H*** before.
73 - WD8OQX

 

I've been a ham for two years now. I joined my county's emergency management team almost a year ago and have attended every class that has been offered to me. I think ham radio is fine as a hobby but the public service aspect has taken hold of my interest more.

I am one of several that try to respond to every incident we are called for and every storm here in "Tornado Alley". Unfortunately, like everyone else, I can't make every single one of them, but I am disappointed many times when we are activated and about 6 to 10 regulars check  in out of the approximately 30 "volunteers" on the roster. Their early excitement and enthusiasm wrote checks that their determination and sense of duty can't pay. As volunteers this is their perogative but I for one wish they would call or (especially) come to a meeting and tell us that they decided they won't be able to help after all. Then we could trim the roster down to the actual participants that will get involved.

So any newcomers to ham radio that want to volunteer, think about what you are committing to very seriously. If you have the fortitude to roll out of bed at three AM and work until time to go to your job, work all day, and maybe have to go back to the scene again, by all means your community needs you. But if your social life and beauty sleep are more improtant to you, please don't waste your time or ours. You are not likely to get your face or name on TV or in the papers. You might not even get a simple thank you at the time because many will not even know who you are. But the most important people will know and appreciate you. Yourself, your loved ones, your friends and your fellow volunteers will know you were there for them.

 

After reading the "blow by blow" account of the ops that volunteered, I have to say it sounds like "SNAFU". (Those of you in the miltary know the meaning.)
 I'm for helping, but geez, from what I read, it sounds like most of the time you stood around while some bureocrat got his s**t together.
 Did anyone actually act as communication operators with a purpose i.e., ambulance, logistics, relay etc?
 And what exactly is the "secret" about the photos?
 The whole friggen thing was plastered over CNN and every news agency in the world. Morons...
  My humble suggestion is this. ARES, RACES etc.  and other emergency organizations should do the following.
  Organize in small "teams" (5-6 members.) The teams don't get split.
  Each team has a team number.
  DO NOT move unless your team number is called. If there is shortages in the first team due to work, sickness etc, call on the secound team to suppliment and so on.
  The head of the emergency communication teams DO NOT activate the teams until an ASSIGNMENT is needed.
   This is called..MISSION DICIPLINE. and assures you don't have a blind mouse firedrill.
   This 1. Assures that the people are actually needed and not part of the problem by more people than needed.
          2. Assures of a specific assignment (not going headlong into a possiably dangerous situation.)
          3. Shows there has been coordination with other agencies for the need of radio ops.
          In short, if you have no assignment, stay home. Your being there with no assignment is not only possiably dangerous for you, but your part of the problem of excess people that others have to watch for.
   It is the Emergency Communications Leader responsibility to coordinate with the agencies to determine exactly what communications are down and how ops can suppliment. It should be ONLY then that the teams are assigned specific duties and activated. This is not rocket science.
   I blame the leaders of the emergency communications.
   Any leader that would just "throw" his people into a situation without any planning or coordination as to their exact mission should be replaced..pure and simple.
   Not only are they putting these people into a possiably dangerous situation, but apparently these leaders did'nt have a clue what the heck they were doing as far as planning, control or coordination of the people..
   Excuse me, but this really torks me.
   This kind of "leadership" is how people get hurt.
   Lack of planning, lack of an exact mission and assignment and lack of a clue what the heck is going on with other agencies.
    One post said hams need the "skills" in emergencies.
    One of the most important skills is "deployment". You can have 250 hams with radios and all the equiptment a truck can carry; and if they have no mission or assignment, all you have is a mob with radios and chaos.
    It is the leaders responsibilty to see that the ops are assigned in an orderly manner, coordinated with other agencies needing the service. NOT to just start calling on the landline and radio to see how many people he can get in a crowd. Check with the authorities to see if there are any other hazards BEFORE you call.. Biological, Radiological, Chemical. Possiable renewed attacks. These are real possibilities today. Your putting people in harms way. The leaders responsibility is coordination and information.
   The lives and health of these ops when called is the Leaders responsibilty. He owes it to them to see they are deployed in an orderly manner and to get as much information on possiable hazards as he can. Thats part of the position.
   I strongly believe that the emergency communications of ham radio be under the direct control of the head of Civil Defense/FEMA.
ARES, RACES and all the other organizations, are far to politcal and have the lack of expertise and apparent leadership and experience in deploying persons in an emergency and using sound judgement. In plain language, there is too many "Chiefs".
   No ham operator should be deployed unless at the expressed orders of the Civil Defense director or FEMA . Laying the assignment and mission in Federal authority.
   After reading this fiasco, it apparent it's just a matter of time before someone is going to get hurt or worse, due to "amatuer" antics by these self appointed "leaders".
   "Are hams ready to handle emegencies"..Yes..
    Are the leaders of emergency communications ready?..I can only answer I personally would not go into a dangerous situation with them.

P.S. Dennis your response to volunteering again after your experience (Bite-me.), I have to admit..just about says it all..lol

 

Part 2....

If it weren't true, would I log in and post
with my call and email address?

By the way, most of the emails I've
received from this posting told
similar stories.

I hope that many of them will have the
strength to "tell it like it is".

When the rest of the fella's get back from
Dayton, I think Fred might run out of
bandwidth, when they start to post.

And I do not want anybody (ham or not)
to not consider volunteering, but...

This post was demanding of the real truth.
He wanted to know why nobody fron NYC
volunteered.

The answer was already known around the
NYC Metro area. Now, reality dictates that
the rest of you should know.

Our story has not been told yet.

Nor have the stories of the volunteers who
were sent to the Salvation Army.

The NYC ARES / RACES group refuses to recognize
any of their own members efforts, because
they were deemed "traitors" for having the
audacity for helping any one other than
the Red Cross.

Did you know:

They all had staged photo opportunities
for the media...several weeks after the
operation had shut down.
Look at the pictures at the ARRL website,
CQ and QST magazines.
Nice photo's.....(what happened to privacy concerns?)

What I described as had transpired on the radio,
pales in comparison as to what was really said.

They spoke to the field operators like
they were crap, pure crap.
Sorry about the colorful language,
but no other words would suffice.

They had two radio operators in the Command
Center. One was supposed to be on VHF,
the other on UHF.

Not only were both on VHF, they were on
the same repeater...2 feet apart.

Yet, the were too busy to pass actual
traffic between field ops.

This tragedy, as horrible as it was,
could have been much worse.

I could not imagine passing Health and
Welfare, Traffic or any type of Priority
messages amongst this group of Bozo's.

We couldn't even correctly pass basic
messages, such as:

The number of blankets needed.
The bags of ice needed.
The number of clients we had in the facility.
Once in a 12 hour stretch were we asked for
the numbers.

Nobody had any answers.
If our facility manager asked for
blankets or ice, we radio'd the message.

Nothing was done to deliver or secure
those goods.
We were just reporters, reporting on
the great job the Red Cross was doing
by providing those numbers.

At one point, we were told not to talk
to any clients (people in need of Red Cross services),
but later we were told....get this:

Turn away anybody not directly impacted by
the bombing of the WTC.

Homeless families, indigents, the mentally
afflicted, people with alcohol or other
substance abuse problems, do not let them in.

People that would have had the chance for
a hot meal, a hot shower, some clean clothes,
a warm bed and sanctuary for just one night.
Refused, because they weren't directly affected
by the incident at the WTC.

Most of our clients that one night were
Lithuanian travelers, in New York on vacation.
Being Lithuanian-American myself, I could
understand their plight.

No flights in or out of the US for several days,
no ID (left behind at their hotel)
and no place to stay.

I, as an American (and a NEW YORKER),
could not see turning away the homeless
and truly needy AMERICAN families that night.

The shame of turning your back in THEIR time
of need and throwing out food, was disgusting
and revolting.

Here we were, "doing the right thing"
by volunteering for our country, state,
city and neighbors, by turning away the
truly needy.

We were in a facility with 300 cots,
over 5,000 sandwiches, cookies, pastries,
fruits and vegatables, soups, nuts and
all kinds of drinks.

However, we had only 28 "clients" and no
ice to preserve the food.

Yup, turning away the homeless and throwing
out perfectly good food.

I know there are several dozen hams waiting
to tell their stories, not just about this disaster,
but about other "events" involving this group.

And one more thing while I'm on a rant...
If you have to start off a thread with
all of those "Official" titles to somehow
legitimize yourself, forget it!

We are all hams here.
Your callsign is more than needed for
identification, unless you are the Mayor of
New York City or the President of
the United States, you are equal to us.

A person with a ham license, no more
important than the richest or the poorest,
just like on the radio.

People want your callsign, not your glorified
volunteer titles.

Grand Exalted Puba of the Sacred Water
Buffalo tribe, who is much more important than
you...with just your callsign.

That my friend, is the reason for the low turnout.
Nowhere else, not even just 60 miles away
are VOLUNTEERS spoken to or treated in
that manner. We speak to each other as
human beings and equals.

Perhaps (God Forbid) next time, we'll show
up wearing our ceremonial Head dress
and fighting feathers, to signify our rank.

God Bless the USA.

Best Regards,
Dennis

 

Wow!! The posts here suggest my suspicions were correct. How sick that the Hams were treated like chit in so many situations. No volunteer here.

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n2nov @ May 16 2002,00:55)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Without this seemingly mundane training/"standing on a street corner" for a walk-a-thon or parade, you will never have the practical knowledge to perform when it is really needed.  All the book knowledge, CW speed, equipment cache will not help you if you have no experience.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
One thing I would like to add to Charlie's comments is that participating in the events allows you to know who local hams are. Too often during the nets for 9-11 we heard callsigns that we never knew existed. This would be okay if they were from out of town, but a shocking number were from within the 5 boroughs, long island, Westchester and New Jersey. Asking for callsigns to be repeated wasted alot of valuable airtime, especially for alredy overworked net controllers.

I remember myself as 9-11 net control doing some serious head scratching and muttering to myself "OK, so the guy at this shelter was.. KB2 what? Or was it W3 something?" Participating in events allows us to meet our fellow hams so that we are familiar with each other. It may seem minor but you would not believe how much easier it makes the whole operation.

73
Ryan A. Jairam AB2MH
AEC Manhattan, NYC ARES.