Largest-ever mass casualty exercise will
put amateur radio under scrutiny
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members in Connecticut and elsewhere
in the Northeast are poised to take part in what's being characterized
as the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise ever conducted in
the US.
Sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security as a realistic test
of the nation's homeland security system, the exercise - TOPOFF 3 - will
run Monday through Friday, April 4-8.
Approximately 100 ARES volunteers primarily will support the American
Red Cross. Connecticut Section Emergency
Coordinator Chuck Rexroad, AB1CR, says that while governmental agencies
will comprise the majority of those taking part in TOPOFF 3, Amateur Radio's
cooperation with and assistance to the American Red Cross will be under
scrutiny.
"We've been assigned evaluators and judges who will be watching
what we do and how we do it to determine our suitability for such things
in the future," he explained. Rexroad says at TOPOFF 2 a couple of
years ago,
evaluators pointed to massive communication problems that Amateur Radio
could have helped to resolve, Rexroad said. "So we do hope that this
will show that we are very relevant in responding to a disaster situation."
The TOPOFF 3 scenario will depict a complex terrorist campaign beginning
in Connecticut and New Jersey and leading to national and international
response that will include Canada - where the exercise will be known as
"TRIPLE PLAY" - and the United Kingdom - where it will be called
"ATLANTIC BLUE."
The only nongovernmental organization with a formal role in the recently
released National Disaster Plan, the Red Cross has main responsibility
for mass care. Rexroad anticipates that ARES will be providing its traditional
"backbone" communication support among Red Cross mobile feeding
stations, the organization's temporary stationary facilities and other
Red Cross units. ARES also will be ready to provide back-up communication
support the Connecticut Office of Emergency Management, he said.
Rexroad and Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane, K1EIC, have been
gearing up for TOPOFF 3 for more than a year. Both hope the ARES role
in the drill will provide graduates of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications courses a chance to put into practice what they've learned - on
a national stage.
With the drill just days away, Rexroad said he still needs volunteers.
"People who can staff a permanent position, people who can set up
a temporary position, people who can do shadowing and - the big one we're
missing right now - people who can temporarily put a radio in a mobile
Red Cross van," he explained. "The sections surrounding Connecticut
have all offered to provide assistance, and we're looking forward to support
from Eastern and Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island and possibly even
some people from New York." Rexroad has been making the rounds to
conduct briefing sessions prior to the drill.
TOPOFF 3 ARES volunteers must be comfortable with a high-security environment,
realistic-looking "injuries" and military aircraft flying overhead,
Rexroad says. In terms of equipment, he says most operation will take
place on VHF and UHF, with an HF link to the National Traffic System
only. Headsets are advisable because of anticipated high noise levels.
Volunteers will wear matching vests that say "Radio Communications"
on the back and "ARES" on the front.
Due to security requirements, all volunteers must register with ARES
in advance. Information on the exercise and how to volunteer is on the
Connecticut ARES
Web site.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
|
