[MilCom] Fwd: [MilRadioComms] MARS Gets New Name As It Fine Tunes Mission

[AllanStern at aol.com]

>From my posting at _MilRadioComms at yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:MilRadioComms at yahoogroups.com) :
 
On Wednesday, December 23, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an  
Instruction concerning MARS, effective immediately. This Instruction gives the  
three MARS services -- Army, Air Force and Navy/Marine Corps -- a new focus 
on  homeland security and a new name: Military Auxiliary Radio System. The  
Instruction is the first major revision to MARS since January 26, 1988 -- as  
such, the first revision since the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, two 
major  events that changed the way Amateur Radio dealt with emergency  
communications.
 
The DoD defines a "military auxiliary" as "an organized body of volunteers  
prepared to supplement the uniformed services or any designated civilian  
authorities by provision of specialized autonomous services when called upon 
or  when situations warrant," and gives the Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard 
 Auxiliary as examples of auxiliaries.
 
In the past, MARS had focused primarily on emergency communications and  
health and welfare support. The DoD's Instruction now directs the three MARS  
services to provide "contingency radio communications" to support US 
government  operations, DoD components and "civil authorities at all levels," 
providing for  national security and emergency preparedness events. MARS units 
will still  continue to provide health and welfare communications support "to 
military  members, civilian employees and contractors of DoD Components, and 
civil agency  employees and contractors, when in remote or isolated areas, 
in contingencies or  whenever appropriate." MARS must also be capable of 
operation in "radio only"  modes -- without landlines or the Internet -- and 
sustainable on emergency power  (when public utility power has failed); some 
MARS stations must be transportable  for timely deployment.
 
The Instruction, however, does not mention which of the three MARS services 
 will take the lead when responding to events. According to sources, this 
has  been seen as a critical issue in conforming to the National Incident 
Management  System (NIMS) that calls for "unity of command." As now 
constituted, the three  separate MARS services are supposed do "interoperate," but 
command-wise, each  operates independently. Some MARS members had urged 
clarification on this issue  to avoid confusion during an emergency, sources said.
 
The Secretaries of the Army, Air Force and Navy are to encourage  
participation in MARS, the Instruction states, saying this may be accomplished  "by 
establishing and funding an active MARS program within each Military  
Department, which shall then assign a MARS-licensed staff representative to  manage 
operations, readiness, planning, procedural and technical development,  
documentation, standards, training, equipment, program and membership  
administration, and other matters necessary for mission accomplishment."
 
The Secretaries are also tasked with bringing new personnel into their MARS 
 services. The Instruction calls on them to establish programs "to promote  
civilian interest, recruit qualified volunteers, sponsor them for basic  
background checks and furnish them suitable training in contingency support  
communications."
 
The Instruction also dictates that MARS leaders will now report to three  
DoD officials; before this revision, they only reported to one person. The  
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Security and Americas Security  
Affairs (ASD [HD&ASA]) now has primary responsibility for the MARS Defense  
Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) mission. In addition, MARS leaders will  
report to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information  
Integration/DoD Chief Information Officer (ASD[NII]/DoD CIO) and the 
Assistant  Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness (ASD[L&MR]). In 
 the 1998 charter, oversight of MARS was assigned to a single top official, 
the  Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications 
and  Intelligence.
 
This revision -- which was years in the making -- keeps the Navy/Marine  
Corps MARS intact; until now, members of this MARS service were concerned that 
 their part of MARS might be terminated by Navy commanders.
 
The Instruction also gives some new perks to MARS members. Active duty  
military personnel who are affiliated with MARS may be able to earn Reserve  
points based on service in MARS and, in cases of permanent change of station,  
qualify for weight exemption for transportation of MARS communications  
equipment. All members may be considered for benefits associated with DoD  
civilian service, such as access to DoD morale, welfare and recreation Category  
C recreational facilities and access to DoD credit unions.
 
Membership in any of the three MARS services is open to qualified active  
duty, Guard and Reserve personnel, as well as those in civilian agencies who  
report to civil authorities or their supporting organizations (including  
nongovernmental organizations) and private US citizens who meet age, 
education  and other criteria -- such as an FCC-issued Amateur Radio license -- 
imposed by  a DoD Component MARS office.
 
 
AL STERN  Satellite Beach  FL
AllanStern at aol.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MilRadioComms
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CivilAirComms
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HFmonitors
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaMilcom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaComms
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpaceCoastComms
**********************************************************