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A MESSAGE from our Roane County EC ...

The Spec-An

of

Roane County ARES

October

What IS This, Anyway??

          Well, it’s the second edition, that’s what it is. And, to date, nobody wants to contribute to it except me. So it could be the last edition – not sure yet. Certainly don’t look for it to be as full as the first unless others want to add their own input. Actually, don’t remember if anybody even said they liked the bloody thing. So maybe it SHOULD go away, eh? BTW, I stole the coax bar separator from the TNECA website. It was just SO much classier than a straight line or arrows! Sorry folks, I just couldn’t help it! So let’s take a look now at the spectrum of things before Roane County ARES for our consideration and action… excelsior!

Alrighty, Now – Let’s be Legal

            The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) owns the rights to the phrase “Amateur Radio Emergency Service,” “ARES,” and to the ARES logo. I’m not gonna take the time to stick in the cotton-pickin ® symbol every time I type the words, acronym, or insert the logo. Here’s the deal: They say that in all print or electronic publications using these registered marks of the ARRL, we gotta say the marks are owned by ARRL, governed by its rules, and are used by permission. So there. It’s done.

Lots has happened since last issue…

            We’ve had July 4^th boat races, exercises, Gustav and Ike.  How much more can you want for an emcomm group? So let’s try to get started.

We had two actual emergency operations in April, supporting the EOC for severe weather. 15 man-hours were invested in one operation, of which 13.5 were ARES. The second operation used 11.5 man-hours. There were 2 actual emergency operations in May, one for severe weather, and another for a combination of severe weather and a multi-alarm industrial fire. They involved a total of 10 man-hours.

 In June there was a 2-day exercise for DOE/NNSA for the Y12 reservation, in which TEMA, DOE, and other state agencies as well as other agencies from multiple agencies played. This involved support for the EOC as well as support in the field. This exercise, as has happened previously in DOE exercises, had some elements that left a lot to be desired. Miscommunication, such as giving information needed and meant for Roane County to Loudon County, happened from DOE. TEMA Area Coordinator(s) were on site observing the exercise. The exercise simulated the release of some radioactive noble gases from the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) due to a coolant problem. Several radiological aspects of the exercise were unrealistic enough to make the scenario no more than a game for those involved. Similarly, TDOT and other decisions about road closings, etc, ignored the wisdom of local input, running tractor trailer rigs over roads that were too narrow, had no shoulders, were curvy, and had only ditches at the sides. This resulted (in simulation) in the total blockage of the detour route, a situation that could have been avoided had the state officials paid heed to or sought info readily available from the counties who knew the roads that TDOT was making decisions about.

During these exercises working professionals from different agencies, such as Human Services, Red Cross, law enforcement, Purchasing Department, animal control, EMS, E911 and others were all in the EOC working in their respective ESF functions. The unrealistic nature of the scenario, coupled with the insistence of the controllers on not taking input or situation injections, and the general lack of anything for the ESCs in the EOC to do are the main reason why these busy officials, who are required to come to these exercises, find it impossible to take emergency preparedness exercises seriously. While DOE required participation in these exercises in order to make certain payments to the county, the process seems to be approached from the standpoint of merely going through enough motions in order to put a check-mark in a box and mark off the exercise for the year. This also negates the potential benefit of the exercise, making it very difficult for participants to either learn anything or to take the entire exercise process seriously. I’m not sure there’s anything ARES can do about it, but I think if our and other ARES organizations are careful to file honest and frank AARs, pointing out good as well as bad, at least we will have done our part to make exercises more beneficial for all.

An exercise that does not teach something, that is not taken seriously, and is a chore to attend rather than a good learning experience can only provide a check-mark that the exercise as done, and, having done an exercise, it will give a populace a false sense of being more secure “because we exercise.” This is unacceptable.

A Bit More About Some Real Events – Jul 3 - 4 & Hurricanes

            July 3 & 4 saw the return of some big-time powerboat drag racing to the confluence of the Tennessee and Clinch rivers in Kingston. Time trials on the 3^rd and the races on the 4^th, followed by a huge fireworks display the night of the 4^th, interspersed with thunderstorms to add some additional danger and to spice things up. The ARES organization had several customers, including the local EMA, the City Police and other city departments, and the boat race officials. We had originally been told we would not be needed on the day of time trials. We felt otherwise, and were we ever right! The city Police Chief said he needed us whether EMA or anybody else did or not. We staffed the EMA’s mobile command post (MCP) and a communications post right beside the race officials’ stand on the banks of the river. The venue to be covered started with Kingston City Park and extended westward and southerly all the way to the Highway 58 landing on the other side of the town of Kingston. There were vehicles on land and in the water to communicate with and coordinate, including USCG and TWRA boats on marine channels. We were told we wouldn’t really need the marine channels programmed into our radios, but we programmed them anyway. Again, were we ever right!

            ARES provided manpower for the two fixed locations all day on the 3^rd of July for time trials, and all day on the 4^th for the actual races. On the 4^th we also had a couple of rovers with portable radios, and they were quite useful as well. In the MCP we handled dispatch and coordination along with the officials’ station for police, fire, EMS, water safety & rescue, EMA, Kingston Parks & Rec Department, TWRA & USCG. Between the races and fireworks was a significant thunderstorm that included a lightning strike (and injuries) in the city park. Bottom line is we learned that it wasn’t necessarily true when officials told us we wouldn’t needed very much this year. Frequency coordination and assignment was a huge need for which we WILL be prepared next year! We WERE needed more than they thought.

            So here came the hurricanes. Gustav and Ike. Gustav came first and caused some deployment among (FEMA) Region 4 folks. Two members of Roane County ARES were part of a four member team that went to Louisiana with the TNECA comm. trailer. They went as TN MARS Team One, and went to Alexandria, then Baton Rouge, LA. Below is a photo of the trailer. It was so dark I had to lighten the picture so the trailer could be seen, but you can’t see the HF antenna deployed to the left and right of the extended hydraulic mast.

            This team can tell their own story better than I can – and they are invited to do so for the next issue of the Spec-An, if they wish.

Suffice it to say that for Gustav, which was much more centered on Louisiana and environs than was Ike, everybody and their dog had determined to show the world that a repeat of Katrina was not going to happen. Although they did see lots of destruction and power outages, MARS Team One saw lots of really rapid restoration of services, especially communication services. The telecom providers had all massed to give a huge response to what wound up being a much lower category hurricane than had been expected. Almost everywhere they went, they were met with people who had cell phones glued to one ear.

            Lessons learned: Be alert for a disproportionate response that can possibly contribute to indifference and lack of response to the next possible disaster. A valuable lesson, and something we must all be careful about.

            Well, there’s more, but it’ll have to wait. As you can see, if you’ve stuck with it this far, it’s not been a dull few months. Maybe, with regard to real emergencies, it can be a bit duller, and we can learn and practice some more. Next edition we can talk a bit about the October SET, which, in Tennessee, was a joint set between ARES, TEMA, and MARS. It went off pretty well, but we learned some things and could have used some more participation. There are things we need to hone.

            In the mean time: I am not the only one that can contribute to this little gem of a publication! If you think it should go on (continue), SEND SOME STUFF for it! Or at least some ideas!

            We have a meeting coming up on October 21m Tuesday, at the Roane County EOC. I want as many as possible to put it on their calendars and show up. We have some important issues to discuss, including some that have ramifications for progress and training not only for our group but for this part of the state.

            As a reminder, folks, look at your calendars also to see when you’re scheduled to be NCS. Some of us have been forgetting to be prepared for that on occasion. To err is human, and you’re certainly forgiven, but let’s try to put those things on our calendars. I have sent the schedule to the whole mailing list at least twice. See y’all on the next net Tuesday, October 14, 2100 hrs EDT. 146.940 mhz WBfGBI repeater. And, while I’m at it, I repeat public thanks to Tim Berry for allowing us the use of his repeater for ARES functions while the KE4RX repeater and tower are being brought up to snuff.

            See ya next time. 73 DE KI4FZT, EC – Roane County (TN)

ARES Reports Submitted for February & March 2008

District: 8

Month: February

Year: 2008

Total Number of ARES Members: 19

Changes Since Last Month: 0

Local Net Name: Roane County ARES Net

Total Net Sessions3Number of Drills, Tests, or Training Sessions: 5

Drill, Tests, or Training Session Man Hours: 40

Approximate number of Public Service events this month: 0

Public Serve Event Man Hours: 0

Number of Emergency Operations this month: 0

Emergency Operation Man Hours: 0

Number of ARES Operations this month: 5

ARES Operations Man Hours: 40

NTS liaison maintained with the: not understood

Comments: 1 DOE/TEMA/local EMA exercise, reported with separate After Action Report to SEC & ASEC for 22.25 man hours.

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District: 8

Month: March

Year: 2008

Total Number of ARES Members: 21

Changes Since Last Month: +2

Local Net Name: Roane County ARES Net

Total Net Sessions: 3

Number of Drills, Tests, or Training Sessions: 4

Drill, Tests, or Training Session Man Hours: 29

Approximate number of Public Service events this month: 1

Public Serve Event Man Hours: 25

Number of Emergency Operations this month: 1

Emergency Operation Man Hours: 22

Number of ARES Operations this month: 6

ARES Operations Man Hours: 77

NTS liaison maintained with the: don't understand

Comments: Man hours includes ALL man hours expended on any ARES operation, but not restricted to ARES members. Details of public service and emergency events sent to SEC/ASEC via separate After Action Reports.

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To be USEFUL, you MUST be READY.
To be READY, you MUST be TRAINED.
To be TRAINED, you MUST plan AHEAD.

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