[Ares-races] Alternative Communications for CIP

[Lloyd A Colston]

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/fire-service/igdec1902.cfm
 
contains this information pasted below.  Of course, there is more
information than this there.  I recommend all subscribe to this list so
they can learn what's going on in the Infrastructure Protection realm.
 
In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist incidents, licensed
operators of amateur radio stations, also known as "hams," played a
public service role by setting up radios at the Pentagon and near Dulles
International Airport so that they could communicate when the phone
network was jammed and cell phones went dead from too much traffic.
The ranks of hams have diminished, largely because younger people find
that using the Internet is easier, but there is a growing role for the
amateur radio operators: their service in providing communications during
emergencies. In the first days after the terrorist incidents, the radio
frequencies on which they operated were not subject to the same
frustrating chaos that froze telecommunications lines. Loudoun County,
Virginia, home to Dulles International Airport, gives the radio operators
space at the county's emergency management center, and county officials
are revising their emergency management plan to delineate the role of ham
radio operators during a crisis. In July, the American Radio Relay League
(ARRL), the national ham radio organization, received a grant from the
Corporation for National and Community Service to train ham radio
operators to respond in emergencies.
The CIPIC suggests that given the potentially important public service
role of hams, local and county emergency managers might consider
identifying the radio operators in their jurisdictions and enlisting
their support for future emergency operations.
Information about amateur radio activities, courses, licensing, and
public support is available at the following URL:
http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html

Lloyd Colston             Mayes County Emergency Management
Pryor, OK USA           http://www.geocities.com/mccem
        Don't let Yesterday take up too much of Today.