[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] Fw: [ARES-VA] Amateur Radio, It’s complicated.

Fri Aug 15 18:05:20 EDT 2025

Thank you for sharing, This is exactly the average scenario I have in mind.
Incidentally yesterday I signed up for the ICS-300 course in september care
Prince William County.
Totally agree with the approach. I am working on exercise scenarios for
ARC.
73 and good weekend.
K4IEW  Stex

Il giorno ven 15 ago 2025 alle ore 11:48 Richard Bunn <n4asx at cox.net> ha
scritto:

> David Lane forwarded this fro KK4INZ Craig Fugate (Former FEMA DIRECTOR.
> Goos short read.
>
> We as amateur radio operators owe some service to the community.  We want
> that community to recognize that we CAN SUPPORT THEM in an emergency.  But
> it takes willingness to train and understand how amateur radio would
> support a community when thing go to heck.
>
> I was in Cape Coral Florida when Hurricane Ian hit category 5.  The eye
> went over my house, destroyed by tower and no power for 9 days.
>
> The local ARES group is very strong, and they have planned for such
> disasters.  I have their plan book, so I fired up my HT and listened.  Well
> before the hurricane hit,  they had gone to work and all of the hospitals
> and EOC's in the area were up on the air.  Many amateurs have generators
> and emergency assets.
>
> I am not a member of their ARES group, but I did mark up on the local
> repeater.  After the hurricane,  there were no CELL TOWERS, No commercial
> radio systems and most of the coast was under 12 feet of storm surge.
> Bridges to the islands were destroyed.
>
> ARES, members had portable repeaters up, then fixed antennas where their
> regular repeaters were.  and used simplex to great effect.
>
> Rick N4ASX
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: main at ARES-VA.groups.io <main at ARES-VA.groups.io> on behalf of David
> A Lane, KG4GIY via groups.io <pwcares=gmail.com at groups.io>
> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2025 7:08 PM
> To: main at ARES-VA.groups.io <main at ARES-VA.groups.io>
> Subject: [ARES-VA] Amateur Radio, It’s complicated.
>
> All,
>
> Craig Fugate posted this on LinkedIn.
>
>
> https://www.linkedin.com/posts/craigfugateconsultingllc_ham-radio-has-been-in-disasters-longer-than-activity-7361812663632318464-tD_f
>
> Text:
>
> Ham radio has been in disasters longer than most FEMA acronyms. It’s saved
> lives, bridged communications gaps, and gotten the message through when
> everything else fell apart. But like any old relationship—it’s… complicated.
>
> Why It Works:
>
> Runs when everything else faceplants – No cell service, no internet, no
> problem. Give them a battery, a roll of wire, and a tree, and they’ll be on
> the air before the EOC coffee is made.
>
> Power out? No problem – From portable generators to solar battery systems,
> hams have emergency power figured out. They even practice it every year
> during American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day—because playing radio
> in a park with no power is their idea of fun.
>
> More than just voice – Hams can send email over HF radio when your cell
> phone has fewer bars than a dry county.
>
> Why It’s Complicated:
>
> Personality friction – Some hams think they’re God’s gift to disaster
> comms. Some emergency managers think volunteers are a liability with a
> callsign. Can they work together? Depends—both need to accept they’re more
> effective as a team than as rival tribes with radios.
>
> Mixed access – In some Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), hams get their
> own radio room and assignments to staff shelters. In others, they’re locked
> out because the EM “doesn’t see the need,” or because a couple of bad hams
> in the past turned “helping” into “hurting” and torched the bridge for
> everyone else.
>
> Overconfidence in “unbreakable” systems – Some emergency managers swear
> their comms will never fail. They’ve got backups for their
> backups—generators, sat phones, “redundant” everything. Amateur radio?
> “That’s cute, but we have real technology.” Then Mother Nature sneezes, a
> backhoe operator takes out the fiber, and suddenly that “redundant” plan is
> taking an unplanned vacation. Meanwhile, the ham with wire in a tree is
> suddenly the most popular person in the EOC.
>
> Where ARES® Fits In:
> The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) — part of the American Radio
> Relay League (ARRL) — is the translator between “ham speak” and “EM speak.”
> They train with agencies, know ICS, show up when requested, and already
> know the drill. They’ve worked through the personality clashes and still
> get the job done.
>
> Bottom Line:
> Ham radio isn’t a magic bullet. It’s more like that seasoned old operator
> with a go-kit who shows up when the lights go out, sets up in the corner,
> and starts passing traffic before you complete that first SITREP. Amateur
> Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) is the teammate who gets them to the right
> place, on time, with the right tools—without starting an argument in the
> EOC.
>
> Hams in Emergency Management – Rules of the Road:
>
> Serve the agency, not the other way around.
>
> Know the plan before the disaster.
>
> Train like you deploy.
>
> Be professional.
>
> Don’t burn bridges.
>
> Stay mission-focused.
>
>
>
> — craig – KK4INZ
>
> —
> David A. Lane, KG4GIY
> EC/RO Prince William County ARES®/RACES
> +1.703.628.3868
> www.pwcares.org
> IM: kg4giy
>
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