[CALV-AUXCOMM] National Traffic System Supports FEMA’s Cascadia Rising

[Eric Christensen]

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*Press Release*


For Immediate Release
                       11 June 2016

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*National Traffic System Supports FEMA’s Cascadia Rising***

* *

The ARRL’s National Traffic System debuted its new National Response
Plan this past week during FEMA’s /Cascadia Rising /exercise.  At the
invitation of FEMA’s Disaster Emergency Communications Directorate, more
than forty NTS members in the U.S. and Canada demonstrated the ability
to relay situational awareness from a simulated disaster area covering
the States of Alaska, Idaho, Northern California, Oregon and Washington
to their National Response Coordinating Center at Washington, D.C.


Methods used during this proof-of-concept demonstration project included
the NTSD digital network as well as traditional radiotelephone and
radiotelegraph networks.  All message traffic was transmitted and
delivered over RF-only circuits using the universal radiogram format,
selected for its proven network management tools and enhanced
accountability standards.

The exercise proved the value of consistent, internationally adopted,
standard procedures, practiced through regular traffic handling
assignments.  Some observers compared NTS radiotelegraph nets to the
best of military and commercial operations.  Transcontinental Corps ops
displayed professionalism and skill operating CW under poor propagation
conditions.  An initial review of TCC traffic shows near perfect
accuracy (>99%) with the random, five character groups used for message
texts.  Coast-to-coast traverse time averaged less than fifteen
minutes.  One message was relayed in less than one minute.


Cascadia Rising will be the first of many exercises with FEMA designed
to enhance the ability of NTS to provide efficient and reliable disaster
communications services, especially vital situational awareness in the
early moments of a communications failure.  NTS enjoys a culture of
continual improvement and lessons learned from Cascadia Rising will be
used to improve the National Response Plan and provide a basis of
comparison for system performance.


Radio Amateurs interested in participating in NTS should check-in to a
Section or local NTS net or contact their ARRL Section Traffic
Manager.  http://www.arrl.org/sections


Additional information about NTS and Cascadia Rising may be found
at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/NTS-CR/info.


Contact:
Mr Joseph A Ames Jr, Chairman
ARRL NTS Eastern Area Staff
w3jy at arrl.org
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