DELARANEWS
ARES
Stan Broadway, N8BHL Ohio SEC, Delaware EC
Hams Radio Operators Support American Red Cross in Kentucky Flood
Response
As the flood waters began to recede following devastating rainfall in Kentucky that began on July 26, the American Red Cross reported that over 400 of their disaster workers were on the ground, as well as dozens more in other locations. They provided shelter, meals, and other forms of support. Red Cross teams also worked alongside their state and municipal partners among others, including Kentucky Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) volunteers. ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, was in touch with American Red Cross personnel in the affected area. He said ham radio volunteers were supporting Red Cross damage assessment teams with radio communications. "The rural and mountainous terrain of the affected area adds to the already difficult situation," said Johnston. Much of the local response effort is being coordinated by Steve Morgan, W4NHO, of Owensboro, Kentucky. The response of radio amateurs throughout the region is under and in cooperation with an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kentucky Chapter of the American Red Cross. ARES® groups from Ohio and Virginia have also been in touch with hams in the affected areas and have been on standby, ready to respond if needed. Ohio was on standby for the massive Kentucky flood activation, and we were faced with the same challenges as Kentucky’s other surrounding states- lack of response. It’s not just ham radio, it’s almost any organization in today’s society. But for ARES, it’s a problem we need to address. Morgan called the evening prior to the response to ask if we could round up some people willing to go… as in any massive disaster operation, actual information was sketchy at best. We can just expect that! Agencies, despite their plans and procedures, are made up of people- many of whom have not been involved in a massive disaster. Confusion reigns until the administrative people kick into gear and get things smoothed out. I put out a call to EC’s in District 4 and 8 along Ohio’s southern border to prepare a “ready list” of operators who might be available should we actually activate. Of 18 counties, we have EC’s in 11. I got TWO replies. There were some other volunteers willing to respond actually all over Ohio. This lack of return was disappointing. It was as close as we’ve come to “The Big One” as we may get for a long while and the lackluster readiness prompts us to reinvigorate our training and rebuild our enthusiasm. Many with whom I’ve had this discussion offer that COVID killed us… the lack of events and personal contact took the wind from our sails and got us firmly ensconced in our recliners. It’s time to get over that, and get back to work! In this environment, we have launched a new series of training emails aimed at our EC’s - the critical, heartbeat people of our organization. In addition we are gathering specific information with a series of “Surveymonkey” questionnaires. The first is still open, but confirms much of our conversation. The job function most important to the majority of EC ‘s is encouraging fellow hams to participate. There is only a little difference with the other topics- serving our agencies, establishing trust with them, and planning. The runaway topic of those which produces the most difficulty is recruiting and maintaining active volunteers. The majority are satistifed with support from ARRL, from DEC’s and SEC… and the majority (65%) agree Ohio ARES is on the right track. So that’s encouraging, and we plan to submit several more training notes to help both new and seasoned EC’s refresh their enthusiasm. We are on the “right track” but it’s time we ALL got back to actually running! We don’t have the luxury of picking and chosing our deployments, and our calls to duty- they will come, and they will demand a fast reaction! What we do is important, is NOT outmoded and can still be the working “last resort” that may not save the world but will certainly make a big difference! Are YOU ready?? Local EC’s are asked to prepare for the October 1 Simulated Emergency Test. This year we are turning the tables- instead of handing down a scenario we are asking EC’ to create their own SET goals and exercises (within some very general guidelines) so that they can associate with their EM’s and work up something that would be likely in their own area. EC’s can cooperate with other counties (especially in the case where there are low memberships) to boost their exercise. An emailed guideline has these goals: 1. Activation. EC’s need to test and perform activating their volunteers, organizing their response and preparing for deployment. 2. Deployment. Volunteers enjoy activity- so to simulate your emergency, it’s a good thing to deploy as many as possible. Consider mobile units to agency locations. Or, consider placing units into and around a theoretical situation (think: Kentucky flooding or some type of storm outbreak). Something we did several years ago may spark your interest- we had our counties go all simplex- and find out through deployed mobile simplex stations where weak point and relay points should be located in your county. From that information you can create a county “Simplex” map to serve you in a real situation. 3. Messaging. Our most basic purpose is to send and receive information on behalf of our agencies. These messages can be formal IS-213 type messages, internal “radiogramma” forms, and yes, simple spoken messages. I recommend practicing the digital message formats- fldigi and Winlink. Keep careful track of ALL of these messages, they will add to your message count as you complete your ARRL report form. But in real life, we do need practice at sending and receiving information accurately! So this is a big part of how you would design your exercise. Don’t forget regular status reports and “exercise only” requests for service from the state. Please try to include the NTS system if available for sending messages upward. For Winlink, merely address to W8SGT and we’ll get it. 4. Adapt and Overcome. As you design your exercise, don’t hesitate to throw in some ‘surprise’ things… power has just dropped, you’re on batteries (for real) or in the middle of one thing, a severe storm moves in, that kind of surprise. It will challenge and make your volunteers better! 5. Timeframe. We are exercising that Saturday. You are free to work into both Saturday and Sunday (let me know if you need the state Sunday) but the primary goals can be handled in one day. This is NOT a ‘check-in and go home’ situation. You should have enough activity to last much of the day! We anticipate 10AM – 4PM as out hours at the Sarge. So it’s up to YOU! If you’re an EC I hope you’re already working on developing your SET- time is rushing by. If you’re an ARES member- volunteer to help with planning and be ready to participate! We hope everyone gets involved!
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 second Thursday of every month at 8PM. We hold a training meeting on the first 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.
DELARANews
ARES
Stan Broadway, N8BHL Ohio SEC,
Delaware EC
Hams Radio Operators Support American
Red Cross in Kentucky Flood Response
As the flood waters began to recede following devastating rainfall in Kentucky that began on July 26, the American Red Cross reported that over 400 of their disaster workers were on the ground, as well as dozens more in other locations. They provided shelter, meals, and other forms of support. Red Cross teams also worked alongside their state and municipal partners among others, including Kentucky Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) volunteers. ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, was in touch with American Red Cross personnel in the affected area. He said ham radio volunteers were supporting Red Cross damage assessment teams with radio communications. "The rural and mountainous terrain of the affected area adds to the already difficult situation," said Johnston. Much of the local response effort is being coordinated by Steve Morgan, W4NHO, of Owensboro, Kentucky. The response of radio amateurs throughout the region is under and in cooperation with an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kentucky Chapter of the American Red Cross. ARES® groups from Ohio and Virginia have also been in touch with hams in the affected areas and have been on standby, ready to respond if needed. Ohio was on standby for the massive Kentucky flood activation, and we were faced with the same challenges as Kentucky’s other surrounding states- lack of response. It’s not just ham radio, it’s almost any organization in today’s society. But for ARES, it’s a problem we need to address. Morgan called the evening prior to the response to ask if we could round up some people willing to go… as in any massive disaster operation, actual information was sketchy at best. We can just expect that! Agencies, despite their plans and procedures, are made up of people- many of whom have not been involved in a massive disaster. Confusion reigns until the administrative people kick into gear and get things smoothed out. I put out a call to EC’s in District 4 and 8 along Ohio’s southern border to prepare a “ready list” of operators who might be available should we actually activate. Of 18 counties, we have EC’s in 11. I got TWO replies. There were some other volunteers willing to respond actually all over Ohio. This lack of return was disappointing. It was as close as we’ve come to “The Big One” as we may get for a long while and the lackluster readiness prompts us to reinvigorate our training and rebuild our enthusiasm. Many with whom I’ve had this discussion offer that COVID killed us… the lack of events and personal contact took the wind from our sails and got us firmly ensconced in our recliners. It’s time to get over that, and get back to work! In this environment, we have launched a new series of training emails aimed at our EC’s - the critical, heartbeat people of our organization. In addition we are gathering specific information with a series of “Surveymonkey” questionnaires. The first is still open, but confirms much of our conversation. The job function most important to the majority of EC ‘s is encouraging fellow hams to participate. There is only a little difference with the other topics- serving our agencies, establishing trust with them, and planning. The runaway topic of those which produces the most difficulty is recruiting and maintaining active volunteers. The majority are satistifed with support from ARRL, from DEC’s and SEC… and the majority (65%) agree Ohio ARES is on the right track. So that’s encouraging, and we plan to submit several more training notes to help both new and seasoned EC’s refresh their enthusiasm. We are on the “right track” but it’s time we ALL got back to actually running! We don’t have the luxury of picking and chosing our deployments, and our calls to duty- they will come, and they will demand a fast reaction! What we do is important, is NOT outmoded and can still be the working “last resort” that may not save the world but will certainly make a big difference! Are YOU ready?? Local EC’s are asked to prepare for the October 1 Simulated Emergency Test. This year we are turning the tables- instead of handing down a scenario we are asking EC’ to create their own SET goals and exercises (within some very general guidelines) so that they can associate with their EM’s and work up something that would be likely in their own area. EC’s can cooperate with other counties (especially in the case where there are low memberships) to boost their exercise. An emailed guideline has these goals: 1. Activation. EC’s need to test and perform activating their volunteers, organizing their response and preparing for deployment. 2. Deployment. Volunteers enjoy activity- so to simulate your emergency, it’s a good thing to deploy as many as possible. Consider mobile units to agency locations. Or, consider placing units into and around a theoretical situation (think: Kentucky flooding or some type of storm outbreak). Something we did several years ago may spark your interest- we had our counties go all simplex- and find out through deployed mobile simplex stations where weak point and relay points should be located in your county. From that information you can create a county “Simplex” map to serve you in a real situation. 3. Messaging. Our most basic purpose is to send and receive information on behalf of our agencies. These messages can be formal IS-213 type messages, internal “radiogramma” forms, and yes, simple spoken messages. I recommend practicing the digital message formats- fldigi and Winlink. Keep careful track of ALL of these messages, they will add to your message count as you complete your ARRL report form. But in real life, we do need practice at sending and receiving information accurately! So this is a big part of how you would design your exercise. Don’t forget regular status reports and “exercise only” requests for service from the state. Please try to include the NTS system if available for sending messages upward. For Winlink, merely address to W8SGT and we’ll get it. 4. Adapt and Overcome. As you design your exercise, don’t hesitate to throw in some ‘surprise’ things… power has just dropped, you’re on batteries (for real) or in the middle of one thing, a severe storm moves in, that kind of surprise. It will challenge and make your volunteers better! 5. Timeframe. We are exercising that Saturday. You are free to work into both Saturday and Sunday (let me know if you need the state Sunday) but the primary goals can be handled in one day. This is NOT a ‘check-in and go home’ situation. You should have enough activity to last much of the day! We anticipate 10AM – 4PM as out hours at the Sarge. So it’s up to YOU! If you’re an EC I hope you’re already working on developing your SET- time is rushing by. If you’re an ARES member- volunteer to help with planning and be ready to participate! We hope everyone gets involved!
