[SFDXA] Florida Emergency Communications Exercise Combines Hams, Agencies, State, and NGOs - ARRL Letter

[Bill]

Florida Emergency Communications Exercise Combines Hams, Agencies, 
State, and NGOs

A 2-hour emergency communications exercise on March 19 in Florida was 
deemed "wildly successful," while resulting in 21 specific suggestions 
for improvement of issues recognized. Sponsored by Florida Baptist 
Disaster Relief, a non-governmental (NGO) "served organization," the 
exercise simulated a combined disaster of multiple tornadoes crossing 
north-central Florida closely followed by a terrorist attack on 
telecommunications, which took down large chunks of internet and 
telephone service.

Pop-up situations, called "injects" by event planners, simulated 
multiple dire situations and hinted at even larger attacks, designed to 
create possible rumor issues. Multiple counties arranged for volunteers 
to help with the simulation, working in shelters and transmitting status 
reports of individualized disaster scenarios to county emergency 
operations centers (EOCs). Volunteers directed by actual or simulated 
EOC officials aggregated situational awareness and formulated status and 
resource request messages, sent by voice or digital mode to a volunteer 
from the actual Florida agency that handles disaster communications. 
Appropriate responses were sent back by radio.

The exercise picked up additional support from multiple out-of-state 
volunteers, who relayed traffic from voice to email and vice versa. 
Amateur radio also conveyed simulated outbound welfare messages from 
survivors in stricken cities and counties.

*Lee County, Texas, Emergency Coordinator Marida Favia del Core 
Borromeo, KD5BJ, took part in the exercise.*

All told, 431 messages zipped through the airwaves within the 2-hour 
simulation, including 53 to the state and 31 replies. Messages were 
passed using digital email or radiogram.

Two of the seven exercise goals addressed interoperability between 
agencies and volunteers. Agency emergency management and communications 
groups participating included Florida Division of Emergency Management, 
Florida Baptist Disaster Relief, the federal SHARES Southeast Regional 
Net, Alachua, Columbia, Flagler, Madison, and Taylor Counties, as well 
as Homestead City.

Volunteer communications groups included the Northern Florida ARES Net, 
Northern Florida Phone Net, North Florida Phone Traffic Net, and ARES^® 
groups from Alachua, Columbia, Flagler, Madison, Marion, Santa Rosa, 
Suwanee, and Volusia Counties. Madison corralled volunteers from several 
surrounding counties to expand situational awareness.

Multiple county emergency managers injected their own specific plans and 
overlay exercises, as provided by the open-exercise design. Ross Merlin, 
WA2WDT, director of the federal SHARES program, arranged for a 60-meter 
interoperability channel to be made available, and leaders from the 
SHARES Southeast Regional Net provided coverage that resulted in formal 
message transfer. Florida net trainer Dave Davis, WA4WES, rounded up 
volunteers to staff multiple voice nets, and he supervised a PSK31 net. 
Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Karl Martin, K4HBN, also 
took part.

Exercise planning was carried out as much as possible in accordance with 
DHS Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) protocols.

Post-exercise feedback -- both through a 1-hour Zoom "hotwash" session 
and an anonymous feedback form -- were very positive and also suggested 
possible improvements. All are included in the detailed and candid 
/After-Action Report/Improvement Plan 
<https://qsl.net/nf4rc/FBDR/2021/WhirlwindBoomAARIP.pdf>/.
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