ARES
Stan Broadway, N8BHL
Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator
Delaware County Emergency Coordinator
ARES Stays Relevant
How do we stay relevant in Delaware County? We certainly have the heart to serve whenever
called, and we have the dedication to help our neighbors whenever we can. But why should the
EMA or Sheriff or any other agency call on us?
The answer is: because we have skills that can be applied to help them achieve their mission.
And we acquire those skills by continually training and proving our abilities. Operating in a
disaster, a missing search, or even a public service event isn’t something you learn once and
magically apply for the rest of our amateur career. It takes constant training, constant ‘thinking’
and practice!
We aren’t going to be activated because we simply want to help. We’re going to be activated
because we offer valued assistance- and our training does reflect that goal. So far this year,
we’ve held training on our own operations manual, fldigi and data messaging, managing events,
search and rescue, damage assessment and this month, WebEOC. Coming up we’ll be talking
about preparation for the annual Simulated Emergency Test, handling messages, and probably
a tabletop of some variety. All these skills are directly applicable to our primary partner agency,
the EMA. They will also apply to the Red Cross, and other agencies as needed.
Of course, the basics of becoming a member of ARES continue to be the NIMS ICS courses (100,
200, 700, 800) which provide an insight into the management of any emergency from small scale
to nationwide. I recommend the new ARRL course EC-001, emergency communications. It’s free,
available online, and a good foundation for how we operate as amateurs. Of ALL the courses,
my highest recommendation goes to the Auxcomm course. It encompasses a lot- from basic
concerns of a volunteer to functions of COML and other disciplines.
If you have an idea for some training, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email! We can
incorporate the ideas as we move along. Most of all, you are invited to participate in our
training- second Thursday of every month at the ARC.
On page 1 of the DELARA News is a wrapup of our activity for the Ironman competition held at
the end of July. This was a a large activity, with plenty of briefings and planning beforehand. It is
one event that is extremely professional in its management. Despite all the planning, accidents
do occur…and amateur operators who kept their cool were a big asset in managing the incident.
Thanks to all for your professionalism!
Amateur Radio is more than
a hobby- it becomes an
important service when
other forms of
communication fail. It’s up
to all of us to stay ready,
stay trained, and stay
available. We could be
required on a moment’s
notice.
Delaware County ARES is part of the
national ARRL program. We rely on
our volunteers. We operate during
several large public events including
the national-level Ironman
competition.
We hold a radio net on the 145.19
repeater (no tone) on the first
Thursday of every month at 8PM.
We hold a training meeting on the
second Thursday of every month at
7:30 usually at the Red Cross building.
All amateurs are invited!
For information, contact Stan, N8BHL
the Delaware County Emergency
Coordinator, or Joe, K8MP or Craig,
W8CR.
Ohio SEC Report
Vigilant Guard 2019
It was billed as a major, statewide joint disaster exercise involving the National Guard, Military Reserve, Ohio EMA, and counties
everywhere. Here’s how WSYX covered the event:
Early planning was a little bumpy for the multi-day exercise, but it boiled down to “throwing the book” at participants in such a
large fashion that they would be forced to use alternate means to handle situations. In other words, all the ‘normal’ remedies
were not available…so help from neighboring states, other resources and agencies would be required. Precipitated by cyber
attacks the greater effect was the loss of power, water and other essential services affecting millions of people in Ohio. Of
course, that eventually claimed the Internet, email, telephones and radios… except for amateur radio! For a four hour period,
those that operated “The Sarge” expected to handle an onslaught of message traffic.
Did that happen? Well, sort of. Honestly, the premise of losing phones and Internet from the Ohio EOC is not realistic- there
are multiple carriers and direct satellite access, and the UPS backup power units are redundant. But it was interesting to see
participants having to use actual paper forms for mission requests and communication. While The Sarge was able to prove
itself on several levels (HF messaging, VHF repeater contact with Licking County, a major player, as well as simplex directly to
the Incident Command there) the expected jump in messaging didn’t really happen. For some the reaction was, “What’s
amateur radio?” and for others the full potential just wasn’t realized. On the plus side, we actually generated mission requests
from the field (“Who are you and how did you get this request??”) and that smoothed out into a productive relationship with
Intel that allowed us to work well together for the balance of the exercise. The Sarge received rave reviews from the Director,
and proved itself to be a worthy component of the Ohio EOC.
In the field, it was busy, realistic, and intense with actor-victims, multiple fires, aircraft coming and going, even dignitaries from
other countries who were invited to watch. Licking County was the most active county, since a great deal of the exercise took
place at the Ohio Fire Marshall’s Academy.
In all, amateur radio was more recognized than ever before as the resource that will continue to function no matter what the
conditions. Both government and military confidence in amateur radio was an integral part of the exercise, and ARES showed
its stuff successfully!