[KL7AA] Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test Scheduled for May 9 - 10th

[JD Delancy]

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are
co-sponsoring the annual Military/Amateur Radio Crossband Communications

Test in celebration of the 59th anniversary of Armed Forces Day.

The AFD Military/Amateur Crossband Communications Test will be conducted 
on May 9 - 10, 2009. The annual celebration features traditional 
military to amateur crossband communications SSB voice tests and copying 
the Secretary of Defense message via digital modes.

The annual celebration features traditional military to amateur 
crossband communications SSB voice tests and copying the Secretary of 
Defense message via digital modes. These tests give Amateur Radio 
operators and short wave listeners an opportunity to demonstrate their 
individual technical skills and to receive recognition from the 
Secretary of Defense and/or the appropriate military radio station for 
their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to those stations 
making contact with the military stations. Special commemorative 
certificates will be awarded to anyone who receives and copies the 
digital Armed Forces Day message from the Secretary of Defense.

These tests give Amateur Radio operators and short wave listeners an 
opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills and to 
receive recognition from the Secretary of Defense and/or the appropriate 
military radio station for their proven expertise.

Military-to-Amateur crossband operations will take place on the dates 
and time in UTC on the frequencies listed for each station on the Army 
MARS Web site. Voice contacts will include operations in single sideband 
voice (SSB). Some stations, depending on propagation and manning, may 
not operate the entire period. Participating military stations will 
transmit on selected Military MARS frequencies and listen for Amateur 
Radio stations in the Amateur bands. The military station operator will 
announce the specific amateur band frequency being monitored. Duration 
of each voice contact should be limited to 1-2 minutes.

Look for schedules and frequencies of participating military stations to 
be published in May on the Army MARS Web site 
http://www.netcom.army.mil/MARS.