[KYHAM] Exercises Ends and Home

[Ron Dodson]

My fellow Ky Amateurs, ARES and MARS members alike;

The exercise ended yesterday afternoon from our perspective.

After Action Reports and other issues are about to begin from our 
four day adventure in preparedness training.  Let me first extend 
MY thanks to all who worked so hard to pull this off and show 
what amateur radio can do from both a MARS and an ARES/RACES angle.

When Patrick, KF4FMZ and I began down the WKy Parkway with the 
KyEM mobile command post on Sunday, we had an agreement;
NOTHING MATTERED BUT THE MISSION. It made no difference to either 
of us if a message that needed passing went via ARES or via MARS.
What mattered was that it was passed in an accurate and timely 
manner.  We were not here for "brownie points", we where here to 
help plan for a disaster the scale of which we hope never comes.

We went in to the exercise as partners in communications and were 
treated by all EM, National Guard and 1st Army staff as partners 
over 4 days that we will long remember. All through the 4 days, 
nothing mattered but the mission. We are happy that all of you 
shared in that outlook with us; though never a word was spoken to 
that effect between us. Traffic monitored via 40 meter mobile on 
Sunday was professional, accurate and reasonable quickly sent.

Malcolm Franklin, KyEM Director stated several times that the 
exercise would have had a hard time getting of the ground in the 
first hours without amateur radio. This was echoed repeatedly by 
his staff and also the members of the Ky National Guard and 1st 
Army.  For that, they all asked me to extend their thanks. We had 
everyone from a 3 star General to privates inside the MCP trailer 
as well as civilian EM Staff over the 4 days.  They were treated 
with respect and we were shown respect for the role that amateur 
radio played in the operation.

Folks, we have just made history in Kentucky.  This was a ground 
breaking event and will be treated as such. Many lessons were 
learned by us all in the undertaking and these will be studied 
and shared for a good while to come. I took several photos with a 
35 mm camera while at the forward EOC at Wendell Ford Center.  If 
you took pictures at your operation on Sunday or the days that 
followed, please share them with me.  Once I return from my 
coming trip next week, I want to begin putting together an after 
action report and story board for all to see.  I also talked with 
Patrick and Ky Army MARS Director Barry Jackson about creating a 
Power Point presentation for the upcoming ARRL Ky Section 
Convention in September to be shown in forums there.  I'd like to 
have as many of your EOC's and other exercise operations at local 
level represented as possible.  ALSO be sure to send me any info 
you have about your local op's in time form the MARCH reporting 
period so that I may reflect the number of personnel, man hours 
and other important facts in the section report before April 8, 2004.

More on this after I return.  Again, my thanks to you all and the 
thanks of KyEM, the Department of Military Affairs and the US 
Army for your efforts on their behalf.

73,

Ron Dodson, KA4MAP
Ky Section Emergency Coordinator