[South Florida DX Association] Field Day - What It Really Is

Mon Jan 18 10:26:13 EST 2010

*Field Day - What It Really Is*
Op-Ed by W4WR

I'd like to share some of my personal thoughts about Field Day. I should 
also mention that these opinions in no way reflect the positions of the 
ARRL, either Headquarters or our Section Manager and are strictly my own.

The discussion seems to have gone on for years. And still, no one can 
agree. The opinions are so equally divided that I know a consensus will 
never - now or in the future - be reached.

The discussion is always the same. "It's a contest!" insisted 50%. No, 
it's emergency preparedness countered the other 50%. And so, back and 
forth it goes year after year.

During my tenure as Section Manager (yes, I had a life before I moved to 
Florida) each year I would travel to 15 or so FD sites over the weekend. 
Some were pretty plushy and some were a bit more primitive. Most were 
somewhere in the middle. And after so many years and so many Field Days, 
I finally decided what Field Day was.

Today I hear clubs happily announcing the procurement of a 50 foot comm 
van they got from their Office of Emergency Management (OEM) or how they 
had reserved the sheltered pavillion on the ocean with rest rooms and 
BBQ grills. (Nothing wrong with either of those, by the way.) Planning 
meetings start in January, a full six months ahead of the event. Some 
clubs start their Field Day planning for the following year immediately 
after the break down on Sunday.

So, I thought, how realistic was all of this for an actual emergency? 
Would ARES® groups and clubs all leave their homes to gather together in 
a comm van after a tornado? Would they set up 10 towers with a crane 
right after a flood? Why would they all come together to provide 
emergency comms in a field? Is this a realistic scenario for a disaster? 
I didn't think so.

If you wanted to practice your skills as a disaster communicator, first 
you needed to be trained in the Disaster protocol for your area 
Emergency Management organization, then you needed to participate in the 
annual SET (Simulated Emergency Test). The ARRL describes SET as 
follows: "The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test is a nationwide exercise in 
emergency communications, administered by ARRL Field Organization 
Leaders including Emergency Coordinators, District Emergency 
Coordinators, Section Emergency Coordinators and Net Managers. Many 
other Section Leaders like the Section Manager and the Section Traffic 
Manager may have a hand in planning the exercises and/or reviewing the 
results. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), National Traffic System 
(NTS), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) and other 
public-service oriented groups can be involved. The SET weekend gives 
communicators the opportunity to focus on the emergency-communications 
capability within your community while interacting with NTS nets.

But when it comes to Field Day, even the ARRL endorses two points of 
view. They provide a database where groups where the locations of FD 
sites would be listed. The League's web site boasts a full page 
dedicated to Field Day with such topics as:
* Field Day Package (requires Adobe Reader)
* Field Day Station Locator
* 2009 Field Day Press Kit (Word)
* Order Field Day t-shirts, pins, supplies
* W1AW Field Day Bulletin Schedule
* Event Exhibit Materials
* Public Service Announcement
and much more. All of this was listed under the auspices of the 
"Contest" Branch. Confusing? You bet! So the rush is on. A rush of 
planning on who is going to bring the chili, how much to charge for meal 
tickets, what software would be used for logging and what call sign 
would be the most prestigious?

Does any of this sound like it is appropriate planning for an UNPLANNED 
disaster? What does Field Day have to do with "Emergency Communications"?

So it must be a contest, right? Wrong. Have you even seen a contest with 
15 people in a field? Even the most serious Field Day operators admit 
that they are just out there to have some FUN. The camaraderie of 
getting the club and their families together and just having a good old 
time is the main objective for most Field Days.

So how can this be a contest? The only thing in common between the 
"Field Day Disaster Drill" and the "Field Day Contest" is, "who's 
bringing the chili?"

I live in south Florida, a disaster waiting to happen. A close friend of 
mine said, "When a communication crisis hits here in Southeastern 
Florida hams don'tusually end upoperating from parking garages, 
pavilions, 50 foot air conditioned van or even tents - many end up in 
their own houses without commercial electricity and with their outdoor 
antennas either non existent or downed by the bad weather."

So what is Field Day, really? Field Day is our annual public relations 
event. Your PIO should be the most important player. He/she should be 
calling the Selectman or the Mayor, or the County Commissioners or 
whoever runs your town, city, or county. Invite your Office of Emergency 
Management, the Fire Chief, the Police Chief, the County Sheriff, 
hospital administrators, CERT teams and Team Leaders, and 
representatives from your ARES®/RACES groups. Call the newspapers, the 
TV stations, the radio stations, and especially invite the general 
public...whoever has the capability to get the word out and those who 
need to hear it. Prepare exhibits and "hands on" projects for the kids 
in attendance. And be prepared to deal with the public as much as you do 
with your food menu. Dedicate a significant part of your resources to 
Tour Guides, an Information Table, easy to understand handouts, and well 
spoken representatives of our contributions to the community.

Field Day is an opportunity that only comes once a year. We wonder why 
we are "unsung heroes". It's our own fault. We have to take advantage of 
the two days a year we can blow our own horn - to become "sung heroes", 
to let the public know we are here, what we do and why we do it.

Torn jeans and stained t-shirts are NOT the order of the day. Take pride 
in your professionalism. Look sharp. Wear your club or ARRL badge. Let 
the public know we are not a bunch of rag-tag geeks. We are lawyers, 
engineers, teachers, real estate agents, and telephone linemen. We are 
people who make things happen.

Paul Harvey said, "America's quiet warriors are the legion of ham radio 
operators, 700,000 of them, who are always at ready for backup duty in 
emergencies -- amateur, unpaid, uncelebrated, civilian radio operators, 
during and after floods and fires and tornadoes..... and right now, at 
this moment, they are involved in homeland security to a greater degree 
than you would want me to make public." (Paul Harvey News and Comment, 
ABC Radio, March 19, 2003)

Those words did more for Amateur Radio than a thousand Field Days could 
do. Now, imagine a thousand Field Days doing what Paul Harvey did -- 
speaking out for our tremendous commitment to volunteerism. We need to 
look at Field Day a little differently.

With all your preparations for Field Day, are you prepared to deal with 
the important officials you have invited? Are you prepared for the three 
minute drill: explaining the "who, what, why, where and how" of Amateur 
Radio? Will you be proud of the way you look on the 11:00 pm news?

So, both sides are wrong! Field Day is our annual PIO event. Let's hear 
it for the "unsung" and under-appreciated PIO's in the Field. Field Day 
is their day!

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