[MDC-ARES] National Capital Region Disaster Volunteer Reception Center Exercise - Saturday, September 25

[n3sb at qis.net]

Hello, we've (ARES) been asked by the District to provide amateur  
comms support for this disaster exercise (see below) on September 25.   
We will station an operator at the Volunteer Intake center (Turkey  
Thicket Rec Center) and another either at the Reeves Center or  
possibly at DC's UCC.  I will reach out to the operators that I know  
of in DC who might help.  I'd also appreciate if you could put out the  
call on the next section newsletter and EchoLink.

BTW - Apparently DC isn't the only jurisdiction participating.  All of  
the surrounding communities are conducting a similar drill.   
Apparently there isn't a need to coordinate across jurisdicitions  
necessarily but it could be an interesting wrinkle if others are also  
going to have an amateur communications component.

Thanks and 73,

Jack Gunther/KB3KKY

Volunteers Needed for National Capital Region Disaster Volunteer  
Reception Center Exercise - Saturday, September 25

Please visit http://disasterexercise.eventbrite.com to register.

Volunteers are needed to assist with an important regional homeland  
security training exercise in the Fall of 2010.  On Saturday,  
September 25 the Volunteer Centers and Medical Reserve Corps units in  
the Metropolitan Washington area will participate in a Regional  
Volunteer Reception Center Exercise.  The purpose of the exercise is  
to test the ability of the region to utilize and manage spontaneous  
disaster volunteers.

Volunteers are needed to role-play spontaneous volunteers who have  
heard about a disaster via the media and have reported to a local  
Volunteer Reception Center to offer their services to the relief  
effort.  Spontaneous volunteers are people who are not affiliated with  
a disaster relief organization but who have useful skills and a desire  
to help the impacted community.

Please help us to publicize this opportunity to help the Metropolitan  
Washington region prepare for disasters.  Anyone interested in  
participating can register by using this link -  
http://disasterexercise.eventbrite.com - to the Metropolitan  
Washington Regional VRC Exercise registration site.  Participants will  
select one of 6 different Volunteer Reception Center sites in the  
region. The DC location is at Turkey Thicket Recreation Center and  
will be open from 9am - 11am.

Upon arrival at the exercise site, all participants will be checked in  
and receive an orientation to the disaster scenario, including what to  
expect as they join the exercise play.    This disaster exercise is  
made possible through a grant from the Department of Homeland Security  
to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.