Kris, and the Group;
MARS is indeed already set-up, sanctioned by DoD and has
been running drills on the possible loss of Communications/Telco
overload for years... Need was first Id'd in 1996 locally following
the floods, and how quickly not only telco but also 800 MHz radio
went out of service. Other parts of the Country Identified the need
many years earlier during Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and so on.
We are also part of SHARES (FEMA) HF Radio networking
and support FEMA, Red Cross, Telco, CAP, DoMS and about 20 other
Federal Agencies for Mitigation, recovery, etc. SHARES also includes
contacts
in NDMS (Medical), Telco, Petro-chemical, and other industries.
We have stations throughout the US, and OCONUS as well, including
in
some forward areas (sorry- can't be more specific there) and have
Phone-Patch
as well as Text Messaging capabilities. (Phone patch is Phone to Radio to
Phone
connectivity- like on "MASH"- Just with newer, better more powerful gear
than
they had back then. We have members in all three service's operations
umbrella:
Army, Air Force and Navy/Marine Corps.
Our sister service, US NAVY/Marine Corps MARS, has an existing
support
MOU (memorandum of understanding) already with the Oregon State Police,
and
it's Regional Dispatch Centers and the Office of Emergency Management.
All three
service's units can support all above mentioned entitities. We can also
support local
government needs, simply by filing the MOU for that Agency or Industry
with HQ.
MARS also supports Active Duty and Reserve/National Guard units,
as we
utilize Military frequencies for our activities by Permission of the
Secretary of
Defense, and can provide inter-agency communications support and
interface. We
can also train other HAMS, and those interested in becoming hams to be
'in-house'
MARS stations/members, thus providing a quicker method of linking in a
disaster.
We also have VHF and UHF frequencies and repeaters to provide for
close-in
support (especially when long range frequencies -HF- might be undesired
for reasons
of security/stealth). All three service's MARS members use
interoperability and can
operate on each other's frequencies. MARS members are ALSO Hams, so they
can
for example monitor the local ARES/RACES frequencies and liaison between
them and
the communities they serve and the Federal Mitigation and First Responder
agencies.
Best part- MARS members are volunteers. As such, except for a few
extra watts
of power, or food, or water, they cost nothing if they deploy to the
scene or operation
center as needed (We don't require they deploy- they are free to decide
if they can do
so safely). Usually, if we can arrange it, we can have stations outside
the affected area
monitor those that do deploy so the messages and support info gets
through in very
timely/short manner.
We utilize 'EEI' formatting, and as such, messages to/from an
area if intercepted
are not useful to any potential enemies/bad guys. Example:
A-1: Yes A-2: 23 A-3 102669 B-1: Affirmative C-1: Unknown D: 125 Pounds.
Receiver and sender would have master copy that would allow them to get
the following
data: Yes, Radio Comm established in/out. 23 Volunteers on site. HQ Setup
at grid 102 x
669. National Guardsmen have arrived. Cause of disaster unknown. 125
pounds of food
needed to feed crews.
Each agency form could be modified to provide the logistics they need
without allowing
those outside the need to know circle to get extra or detrimental
information..
Hope this overview helps you..
- John Jewkes, State Director Oregon/Idaho, US ARMY MARS
On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 17:15:15 -0500 "Quinby, Kris (MED)"
<kris.quinby@private> writes:
> I think the DOD sponsored MARS program is a part of that. There used
> to
> be someone on this list that was/is a coordinator for the MARS
> program
> for Oregon and I think Idaho. Maybe that person can help answer
> questions?
>
> -Kris
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SAWYER Charlotte M [mailto:Charlotte.M.Sawyer@private]
> Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 11:07 AM
> To: 'crime@private'
> Subject: CRIME Emergency communications planning question
>
>
> I'm in the process of taking the SANS Mentor-led Incident
> Handling/Hacker Techniques course. In the materials for this class
> there is a mention of redundant communication paths including ham
> radio
> operators in case the telco infrastructure is overloaded.
>
> My question: Does anyone know more about this planning,
> specifically
> what the organization structure is expected to be in place for
> this?
>
> Really just a curiosity question; no particular need to deploy this
> function.
>
>
> Charlotte
>
>
Signed,
John E. Jewkes, SMD US Army MARS Oregon/Idaho
OR/ID State Director (Portland METRO Area Resident)
Confidential Phone Number (Confirm Only) 503-977-0527
National HQ (24/7) Identify Line: 1-800-633-1128 ext 1
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Oct 08 2003 - 23:09:25 PDT