[TNham] URGENT! American Red Cross Still Needs a Steady Flow of New Amateur Operators

[Greg Williams]

The American Red Cross Montgomery Disaster Relief HQ and ARRL have made an
urgent call for more Amateur Radio operators. 

This weekend, Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, ARRL Alabama Section Manager, called ARRL
with an urgent renewed call for Amateur Radio operators for the Gulf Coast
Red Cross disaster relief effort. Sarratt noted that while the initial
response to the need for volunteers produced a very gratifying steady flow
of operators, the number of new operators has dropped dramatically. He
commented that just this morning he had 15 shelters, kitchens, and other
support facilities pleading for Amateur Radio communications back to Red
Cross Katrina Disaster Relief Headquarters in Montgomery, AL. Although many
HF stations are set up around the region, the current need is for deployable
2-meter equipment. Amateurs should continue to bring a complete HF, VHF
station and all personal supplies when traveling to the Gulf Coast region. 

"Contrary to what one may conclude from listening to the public media,
cellular and land-line telephone service is spotty or nonexistent throughout
the region. Amateur Radio remains the primary source of emergency
communications for a number of critical disaster relief efforts," said
Sarratt. Greg and his team in Montgomery have deployed over 75 volunteer
operators so far that have traveled from all over. Many of these operators
are approaching burnout or need to return to their families and jobs.
Sarratt noted, "If an operator comes from a served facility, we need to put
in another operator or we will cause a break in the vital communications
linkage." 

Sarratt said that he is very concerned there may be an unfortunate
misconception that operators are no longer needed for the disaster relief
effort. In fact, the Red Cross expects to need a large number of Amateur
Radio volunteers for at least another two or three weeks to ensure the
people inside those shelters receive the proper care they deserve. 

Send your availability, deployable departure date and duration to the
Montgomery Alabama Amateur processing center at
DR871-06RTT-RCO3 at usa.redcross.org.

Gregory S. Williams
k4hsm at lock-net.com