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Force of Two: In Depth stories from 2 Puerto Rico volunteers on HamRadioNow

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by K4AAQ, Oct 28, 2017.

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  1. K9UR

    K9UR Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    ,,
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2017
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  2. AI7PM

    AI7PM Ham Member QRZ Page

    No confusion here. In my view, the leaderhip of ARRL has demonstrated that they ARE the ARRL, that THEY pick who will be in the leadership positions ( SE division election? Now shenanigans in Atlantic), and the membership should just trust that these departures from integrity and proper procedures are in their best interest.

    Growing numbers of licenses issued, yet declining membership numbers. Gee, go figure.
     
    K5WW and K9UR like this.
  3. W1VT

    W1VT Ham Member QRZ Page

    Ham radio is a counter cyclical industry. When jobs are available hams typically cut back their hobbies to concentrate on making more money and learning skills for their new jobs. Hams have more time for ham radio when they get forced into retirement.

    The high number of hams suggests we just went though some hard economic times.
     
  4. KG7LEA

    KG7LEA Ham Member QRZ Page

    I distinguish between the actions of ARRL management in this event and all the rest of its work. It is safe to say ARRL undertook something it has not done in recent memory so there will be missteps. What to do better?
    • Utilize local ARES teams first
    • Better screening of volunteers, for physical, technical, and emotional suitability
    • Select teams, even as small as two and fill out with individuals
    • Designate qualified leaders upon whom the served agency can rely
    • Enough with the press releases
    • Commit to objective after-action evaluation
    Feel free to add.
     
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  5. KG7LEA

    KG7LEA Ham Member QRZ Page

    Locally we see an increase in licensing exams for individuals focused on emergency preparedness.
     
  6. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Just want to point out that Zack is a real asset for the ARRL:)
     
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  7. AI7PM

    AI7PM Ham Member QRZ Page

    The above described actions by deployed ARRL leadership and members, then we wonder why there are so many instances in the field of served agencies being dictated to or demanded of by certain (not all) ARES groups, resulting in being dismissed as a credible resource.
    Monkey see monkey do? Children following Dad's example? It would appear that operational philosophy trickles down easily from Newington.

    Been there, seen that, and ended up on the served agency's team that was formed as a result. In time, the local ARES reaction to this team was to cancel the ARES memberships of our team members (1. a former fire chief and AEC, 2. a former Deputy Sheriff, EC and twice DEC, 3. and former ADEC with LE dispatch background), without any verbal or written notice of cause or reason. Wow, they sure showed us. I guess we were their "broken arrows" or members "going rogue".
    That just served as further evidence to the EMA that having his own dedicated and vetted team was the proper course.

    I have since moved and belong to, in my view, the best ARES organization I've come across in the five states I've lived in as a ham. The leadership at the state level sets the bar by example, and has an excellent relationship with the state EMA amd other agency heads. Real training is encouraged and conducted, with opportunities for it well published. I credit this individual, and a couple of his predecessors, with the operational philosophies I've seen here. They didn't accomplish what they have by following what seems the standard ARRL methodology. If ARRL ARES was disbanded tomorrow, I'm sure this state's EMCOMM organizations would continue as is without the blink of an eye, and advance beyond present state.
     
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  8. K8MHZ

    K8MHZ Ham Member QRZ Page

    That's the way it is here, too. Our emcomm groups are not affiliated with ARES. The ARES groups do other public service tasks, like parades and runs. The membership is overlapping and the set up seems to be working well. At first, when emcomm decided to cut ties with ARES, there was some people that didn't like it. I was not one of those people.
     
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  9. W0PV

    W0PV Ham Member QRZ Page

    Just realized this action involves the position of Director of the ARRL Atlantic Division that includes the EPA section, of which K3RF, a lawyer, is a member, and was once Section Manager, and has been the current Vice Director. His Zed bio indicates keen interest and training in EMCOMM.

    Makes me wonder if the alleged conflict of interest comes from some connection with the dismissal in 2016 of Joe W3JY as EPA SCM and NTS Eastern Area Chair. That resulted in a nasty civil lawsuit against the ARRL. Has that been settled in appellate mediation yet?

    Ironically, that situation also involved FEMA and a squabble within the ARRL between HQ and the Field Org about how and who to interface with them. Perhaps that was an early sign of the type of ARES management dysfunction that has now reoccurred during the response in Puerto Rico apparently causing the ARC to prematurely pull the plug on The Force.

    It also led to a revolt and resignations within the NTS and the emergence of Radio Relay International, mentioned earlier in this thread.

    The ARRL BOD is ultimately responsible for the policies and practices of management. If they have a group that has figured out how to rig elections to promote their own agenda's outside of what the (paying) membership wants then the future of the League is in jeopardy.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2017
  10. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Bob, K3RF, is a great guy and its is fatuous to say that Bob had a 'conflict of interest'. Bob is a well respected, knowledgeable and ethically patent attorney. He is the guy you go to to tell YOU whether you have a conflict of interest!

    Yes, I have worked with Bob at a different non-profit. Highest ethical standards.
     
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  11. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

  12. K9UR

    K9UR Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    The ARRL has been, and remains, asleep at the switch. The former leadership was antiquated in thought process and has repeatedly failed in their ability to advance the hobby. We can look directly to former ARRL leader, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, who was at the helm for 30...yes 30 years...aging in place and standing still in the hobby.

    We oft complain about a lack of youth in the hobby -- look at ARRL leadership - not a single leader at HQ below age 50. No women. No people of color. It's a bunch of old white men.

    The ARRL has failed to represent what today's hams want and need. This has gone on for the past two decades. The hobby technology has advanced, yet our so-called national organization has not. Even QST now reads like an Archie comic book (remember the how-to solder version??). It's disgusting what has happened to the technical and comms skills of the hobby. Zero enforcement. Ham clubs, hamfests, and entire radio systems are shutting down. We wound up with quantity not quality after incentive licensing was scaled back on heels of the no-code and simplified license class reforms. W1AW still broadcasts (and I do emphasize broadcast, which is illegal for all but the ARRL above-the-law status) nightly their CW bulletins, yet FCC disbanded the CW requirement nearly 2 decades ago !

    Looking forward, one has to question any purpose beyond simple hobby that ham radio has left. It's not a service any longer. Even the "cars" nets are replaced by tools such as Waze and GPS / real time traffic. Wider level disasters have proven thatRed Cross and state level emergency management agencies simply do not need ham radio as a technology nor the incompetence and infighting of hams as a group of people. Even the Puerto Rico disaster/opportunity turned into an embarrassment of poor management, failed alignment, and weak coordination of partnerships. The army of 50 ...what's that ? 22? Who is the ARRL kidding here?

    It's high time we consider to disband the current ARRL - quit paying the elected representatives for a half-ass effort - form a new union of amateur operators who will advocate for and advance the hobby in technical and communication matters, advocate with the FCC for spectrum rights and lead the rest of the world with forward actions on licensing and enforcement. The ARRL is filled with political squabbling, fiefdoms of quasi-authority, and lack of transparency- a total fail in representing US hams.

    Modernization is in order.
     
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  13. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Well, that's an extreme.

    You can't easily fix demographics but all the other issues, real or perceived are tractable. Don't see any reason to disband the ARRL.
     
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  14. K9UR

    K9UR Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    Not necessarily. When something is broken and has been broken as long as the ARRL, it is sometimes better to fold and start fresh than to try to reform what clearly can not be reformed. Companies do it... Governments do it...clubs do it.... in fact, it happens all the time.
     
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  15. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    The ARRL has an endowment which grows from the "old white men". This endowment may have limited enablement for operational costs, but it means the non-profit endures the machinations of changing leadership. IOW no one or group will close it down.

    There's many very good young people working at the League; you see them at the ARRL booths at Hamfest. That keeps me somewhat upbeat about the organization.

    It is an interesting digression to ask how the present leadership would view a Hiram Percy Maxim, in 2017. Probably get labelled an "officious T&*%&(%".

    ;-)

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
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