White County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Exercise Vigilant Guard Informational Briefing March 8, 2017

Transcription

1 White County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Exercise Vigilant Guard Informational Briefing March 8, 2017 Alan Sykes, KR4AE White County Emergency Coordinator NOTE: EVERYTHING IS TENTATIVE!!!

2 Exercise Vigilant Guard American Red Cross, Northeast Georgia Chapter (ARC NEGA) March 24, Eastern US Time

3 BACKGROUND

4 ARC NEGA Exercise Vigilant Guard Objective To meaningfully engage Northeast Georgia Chapter Red cross volunteers and community partners in several core mission related activities in at least five northeast Georgia Counties. Interface with local EMA, community disaster responder partners, and GAARNG assets to practice communications and roles during the simulated response/recovery.

5 Participants ARC NEGA Georgia National Guard Athens/Clarke County Hall County Ron Harris, AF4GT, is the lead ARES planner. White County Don Strength, White County EMA Deputy Director, is the lead WC EMA planner. Jackson County Banks County Lumpkin County Georgia is a lead state for US Northern Command s Exercise Vigilant Guard 2017

6 ARC NEGA Scenario and Concept There has been some kind of disaster. ARC NEGA stands up simulated shelters in seven NEGA counties in coordination with county governments. White County will open a non-arc shelter then transition it to ARC. Limited/small scale demonstration/training and feeding is carried out for personnel in simulated shelters. ARC shelter managers will exercise or walk-through shelter setup/operation and answer questions related to shelter operations, e.g. How does DFACS fit into shelter operations? What to do if cell phones fail? What kind of information can be sent over they air? ARC shelter managers (to be identified) and CERT volunteers will run the shelters; CERT volunteers will also act as shelter clients.

7 WHITE COUNTY OPERATIONS

8 White County Operations The White County EMA will open a shelter at the [former] Bridge Church, 976 E. Kytle Street, Cleveland, GA, on 24 March 2017 at CERT volunteers will act as shelter clients and/or event based volunteers. CERT will bring county trailer(s) and practice setting up cots, etc. At some point, shelter operations will transfer to ARC NEGA under the supervision of an ARC shelter manager. DFACS and DPH may visit site and inspect. ARC NEGA operations to be exercised include Shelter operations (receiving clients, etc.), Mass feeding Local and area communications via cellphone (primary) and amateur radio using ARES. White County will provide food for participants and the White County shelter.

9 WC ARES Exercise Vigilant Guard Operations WC ARES deploys a team to the WC/ARC shelter at the [former] Bridge Church on 24 March 2017 to support the ARC with supplemental communications. WC ARES activates the Amateur Radio station at the WC EOC and joins the ARC NEGA regional nets. WC ARES activates a digital station at a remote locations and participates in the ARC NEGA regional digital net.

10 Exercise Vigilant Guard Concept of ARES Net Operations 30B ARC NEGA Regional NCS 2-M FM RPTR W4APB K4GAR DSTAR Repeater (Voice) Athens/Clarke White County EOC Hall Jackson Banks Lumpkin Bridge Church ARES Team WC ARES Digital Station (Relay for Bridge Church ARES Team)

11 ARES Communications Resources (Currently Suggested) for Exercise Vigilant Guard W4ABP Repeater , PL (Wauka Mtn) FM Analog ARC NEGA Local/ Regional Net (whoever in NE GA that can hit it) Gainesville D-Star repeater, KJ4ZLL 2 Meters ("C" Node): MHz Centimeters ("B" Node): MHz DSTAR K4GAR DSTAR 70 Centimeters ("B" Node): MHz DSTAR GA ARES Primary HF Voice Freq 3975 KHz Lower Sideband ARC NEGA Regional HF Voice Net HF Digital 80 Meter Band TBD PSK 31 USB ARC NEGA Regional HF Digital Net

12 WC ARES Communications Team Requirements Communications A 2 Meter/FM analog mobile/base transceiver ( 25 watts) with power supply and battery. A DSTAR mobile/base transceiver with power supply and battery. Two VHF antennas either mounted on vehicle or self-supporting. Blank Forms (these can be found in FLMSG) ICS forms 213 General Message 214 Activity Log 309 Communications Log Red Cross Forms For ICS Forms refer to the ARRL ARES Manual and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) Forms Booklet for guidance Welfare Message 5739 Damage Assessment

13 Other WC ARES Personnel and Equipment Requirements WC EOC Three ARES volunteers HF Transceiver (on-site) 2-meter transceiver (FM Voice) (on-site) DSTAR transceiver (on-site) Laptop Computer (for digital) WC ARES Digital Station ARES Volunteer (on-site) HF Transceiver (on-site) Computer (on-site)

14 Operational Considerations - Safety You - Each of us has heard the saying something to the effect: "Watch out for number one because no one else will." Be it a training exercise or an actual emergency your safety is up to you. This is your primary concern. If at any time you are asked to handle an assignment that, for any reason, makes you uncomfortable, decline it. If your concern is with safety, let your group leader know why you declined. Your Team - There can easily be assignments such as ATV where the person with the camera will be very engrossed with ensuring the picture is the best possible and may not notice unsafe conditions. You, as the second person there, will need to be very careful about the safety of your team. Your Mission - Your mission can only be accomplished after your safety and the safety of your team is ensured. During that mission, if the safety of anyone becomes an issue, speak up. If necessary, notify your team leader, or appropriate party, within the ICS organization. Extracted from the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program EC001

15 Operational Considerations Privacy From the ARRL ARES Manual, 2015, General Operating Guidelines 10. Limitations of Amateur Radio in Disaster Communications. During a disaster or emergency the need may arise for patient information to be sent via Amateur Radio. Patient privacy is a serious concern of health care and public health professionals and is protected through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In the rare case that patient information is requested to be sent via Amateur Radio, while it is not the role of the radio operator to determine what is and is not permitted under HIPAA, it may be appropriate for the operator to remind their immediate supervisor or the originator of the message that there can be no expectation of privacy because encryption of information sent via Amateur Radio is not permitted under Part 97 rules.

16 Operational Considerations Privacy (continued) Who is the message intended for? The message is for the intended recipient and the communication should remain private. When handling the message, you should not reveal the existence or contents of the message, even after the operation. Let the receiving agency determine if they want to acknowledge the message publicly. It is the job of the Public Information Officer (PIO), or designated individual, to inform the media of any message content. Who is listening? You do not know who is listening. It could be the general public. It could be the media. During a hectic operation, it is unlikely they could monitor and track the full range of messages in transit. The media may pick up on one message out of context and expand upon it, rather than having the full benefit of all the information at the Emergency Operating Centers. Distortions and misrepresentations could result by third party monitoring. Do not speculate! Be concerned with the passing of messages originated and signed (authorized). Log all messages, including the date/time of origin in case there is a need to verify the origin and timing of the message. What you don't say To the extent possible, do not pass along codes or account numbers over the air that are considered unlisted or private. Examples such as unlisted phone numbers, credit card numbers, and control codes for repeaters should not be sent on the air. Be Compassionate Be sensitive during times when fatalities may occur. If the operation involves the possibility of finding the remains of dead people, and there is a likelihood that relatives are listening at the receiving end or on scanners, do not refer to the need for additional resource people as "Need help. Send over more bodies. Hearing the word "bodies" under these circumstances could cause undue stress and worry to anyone hearing this. Extracted from the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program EC001

17 Operational Considerations Logging As messages are received, the radio operator: Logs the incoming message activity in the ICS-214 activity log. Writes the incoming message activity onto the top half of the ICS 213 (or other) form. Records the communications event information in the bottom margin of the ICS 213 form. Retains a copy of the message at the communications position. Delivers the message to the intended recipient. The intended recipient composes a reply to the message and completes the signature block of the reply. The reply message is delivered to the radio communications position for transmission. The radio operator: Logs the outgoing message request in the ICS-214 activity log. Establishes contact with the receiving station. Exchanges the message with the receiving station. Records the communications event information in the bottom margin of the ICS 213 (or other message ) form. Retains a copy of the message at the communications position. RETAIN ALL RECORDS

18 Key Dates 8 March 2017 WC ARES Meeting 15 March EDST WC EMA and ARES recon of Bridge Church shelter site 16 March Eastern US Time ARC NEGA/ARES communications rehearsal 23 March 2017 (tentative) ARES set up at shelter site 24 March 2017 Exercise Begins

19 What we don t know/have yet Can we can set up inside the shelter? If not we will use mobile stations. Can we set up the day before? Will there be commercial power available? If not we ll need batteries. Final communications plan. Needs to be done by the ARC NEGA Who from ARC NEGA will be on the ground in WC?

20 Remember: EVERYTHING IS TENTATIVE!!!