[barc] GCARES 2006 SET--September 21

[w8lly at sbcglobal.net]

TO:  All GCARES members & All Greene County Hams
Cc:  GCARES Served Agencies


Per discussion and preliminary planning at the 9/25/06 GCARES Coordinators
Meeting, the Greene County ARES 2006 Simulated Emergency Test (SET) will be
conducted on Saturday, September 21.

This exercise will occur in conjunction with an Ohio Air National Guard
[SIMULATED] F-16 crash and Clark County EMA 'mass casualty' exercise in
Springfield Township near US-68 just north of the Greene/Clark county line.
Several GCARES served agencies will be involved for which we will deploy and
provide auxiliary communications support as appropriate.  Clark County ARES
also will be participating and providing similar support for its served
agencies.  GCARES personnel will not deploy into Clark County unless GCARES
mutual assistance is requested by Clark County ARES.

This exercise is scheduled to commence around 1200 but will not be a staged
event.  First responder agencies are to respond 'non-emergency' AFTER
receiving notification.

It is anticipated that GCARES operations will commence between 1215 and 1245
local time.  All stations should plan to monitor the Greene County Primary
Emergency Frequency, 147.165+ (100.0 PL).  In the event of repeater failure,
the first backup frequency is the repeater output frequency (147.165)
SIMPLEX.  In the event of interference or other condition rendering the
first backup frequency unusable, the second backup frequency of 147.555
SIMPLEX will be utilized.

Other repeaters will be used during the GCARES SET exercise.  Additional
information including a current copy of the GCARES Frequency Plan will be
forthcoming.  Stay tuned!


**********************************************************
Greene County Amateur Radio Emergency Service
2006 Simulated Emergency Test Exercise
Saturday 21 October 2006
Commencing between 1215 and 1245L


Primary Objectives
------------------

1.  Conduct annual SET exercise in conjunction with Ohio Air National Guard
exercise on 10/21/2006

2.  Evaluate notification procedure to GCARES (from one or more served
agencies and/or Clark County ARES)

3.  Provide auxiliary communications support for GCARES served agencies
participating in the OANG exercise

4.  Test GCARES alerting and activation procedures

5.  Test antennas and equipment at all Greene County sites where installed

6.  Test potential operating positions INSIDE sites without installed
antennas

7.  Provide interaction with served agencies and opportunity for GCARES
personnel to become more familiar with served agency sites, personnel,
missions and procedures

8.  Demonstrate amateur radio voice and data communications capabilities for
served agency personnel


STRATEGIES (Advance plans and actions)
--------------------------------------

1.  Make sure local group Contact Sheets and Notification Procedures are
up-to-date with served agencies

2.  Prepare GCARES 2006 SET Operational Plan for meeting objectives

3.  Alert GCARES personnel of upcoming 2006 SET Exercise--with general
information but minimal advanced operational details

4.  Contact served agencies (by respective local area Coordinators) to
request and arrange access to designated operating positions at respective
EOCs and other strategic sites on SET date/time

     --  Request served agency to provide liaison personnel to interface
with GCARES radio operator

     --  Request served agency to interact with GCARES radio operator by
providing a Test Message to be sent to another served agency (such message
could be requesting or offering resources, requesting or providing a status
report, etc.  Use either tactical message procedures or formal radiogram
format.)


TACTICS
-------

1.  Receive notification

2.  Activate ALERTING & INFORMATION NET on 147.165 MHz (100.0 PL) to alert
personnel of the TEST EXERCISE incident

     --  Disseminate information about what is currently known and what
auxiliary communications support has been requested or indicated

     --  Request stations to standby and to prepare to deploy to an
assignment

3.  Request an experienced Net Control Station (NCS) to activate a RESOURCE
[LOGISTICS] NET (same or different frequency, as appropriate) to take
check-ins and to coordinate assignments

4.  Request an experienced NCS to establish a TACTICAL NET on
__<frequency>__ (per GCARES Frequency Plan)

5.  Deploy GCARES personnel to respective served agency sites, as
appropriate.  Deployed stations shall:

     --  Maintain communications with RESOURCE NET while enroute

     --  Report arrival at assigned site to RESOURCE NET

     --  Set up station at assigned site and report in to TACTICAL NET

6.  Further tactical operations (instructions and procedures) will be
disseminated by TACTICAL NET NCS


Note 1:  All GCARES personnel and others participating should have all
GCARES Frequency Plan frequencies programmed in all handheld, mobile and
base radios.

Note 2:  Operators at sites without antennas are to perform the following:

     a.  Determine ability to 'hit' respective repeaters (per GCARES
Frequency Plan) utilizing 'initial response' type equipment [HT and/or
mobile unit with internal antenna (rubber duck, mag-mount, J-pole antenna,
telescoping whip, etc.)--no external antenna, mast, coax, etc.]

     b.  Log test of each attempted frequency to document successes and
failures to communicate from INSIDE served agency utilizing just 'internal'
antenna.  After-action evaluation will provide data for promoting antenna
installations where indicated.

Note 3:  ALL GCARES members and other Greene County hams are encouraged to
participate in this exercise by checking into the Resource Net supplying
some basic station and preparedness information.


Thank you for planning to participate in the GCARES 2006 SET Exercise.

73,
Fred Stone W8LLY
EC, GCARES


=================================
Fred Stone
W8LLY at ARRL.net
(w) (937) 220-1686
(h) (937) 848-4112
(m) (937) 470-6948 (24/7 Hotline)

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