Return to Article: Gustav response highlights Army's improvement in disaster communications
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58817
Glad to see the ARMY using HF Radio. We learned a lesson here in South Carolina in 1989 with Hurricane Hugo and now have a fully equipped ham radio trailer (funded by Homeland Security). The custom built vehicle built by Nomad Technologies has allowed ham radio to be intergrated with State Emergency Management and FEMA. 73s de K4NJN
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57694
I'm glad to hear Col. Laverm Young endorse the use of HF radio in emergency communications. I'm a licensed amateur radio operator and volunteer as a RACES operator for the Berkeley CA Fire Department. HF has some advantages when your dealing with damaged telecom infrastructure.
You can make direct voice contacts thousands of miles away with little more than a radio, antenna and power supply. It can also fill the gap for local communications when VHF or UHF repeaters are damaged or busy. The trickiest part is the antenna system. Volunteer amateur radio operators might not be able to deploy with a decent antenna system.
The best way government agencies can help, is to simply stage HF antenna systems and power at EOC sites and in emergency communications vehicles. That would allow a volunteer with their radio, to simply sit down, plug in and start passing traffic.
Best regards,
Robert "Bruce" Carleton (WH6OI)
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57675
Good to hear that someone finally recoginzes the need to include Ham Radio Frequencies and Volunteer Operators. Millions have been spent and wasted for commercial systems, that fail! When Disaster Strikes, Amatuer Radio will get message Thru!! Great Beginning, let's get ARMY/Navy/Air Force MARS involved too! We'll step up to the plate, even though we are volunteers and don't get paid! :-) A way to get Suplus Gear for this mission would be appreciated however! Lead On, I'm available to help is called on!
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57636
As a civil servant I am so proud of all involved in the evacuation efforts. This was superbly done and shows without a doubt that federal workers can do somethings right. President Bush has been critized harshly for past disasters and it shows how he learns and prepares for future disasters. Do they realize that President Bush has had terrible disasters occur during his watch. I wonder if anyone could have handled them any better. Hands up to great leadership from President Bush down. This is a great country.
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