Your comments fit with my take... after attending the Homeland Security
Forum at Dayton last week. The government workers are getting ham
licenses. They think that gives them training as radio operators. It
appears they will be in charge, and we must work for them. Not that is
all bad, but we will not be in charge. The image of the ham operator
showing up to save the day is long gone already. Hams "might" be used
as auxiliary operators, when there are not enough trained government
guys, and hams will be working for the govt boys - not the other way
around.
In one case scenario, the total involvement of ham radio was to inform
the government guys where to put their temporary repeater in the local
hills - hams had no other input - and the rest of the story was about
how the AuxComm leader deployed and gathered up a pile of radios and
changed frequencies every day.
Somebody asked about how hams would fit it... and he said the government
guys were getting ham licenses. I don't have any problem with the
notion hams must take orders and directives from the government men in
charge of disaster relief... you can just picture how some well-meaning
but pushy hams think THEY can just ride up and take over the
communications game and that is pretty unrealistic ... but beyond that,
it appears the role of the ham may be rather limited if the government
boys all have radios, and all we do is advise them where it would be
best to set up.
In any case, the image of ham radio saving the day is fading fast.
The govt boys seek to be self sufficient.
Just MY take, anyway.
------------------------ JHR -----------------------
On 5/21/2014 10:12 PM, John F. wrote:
Very interesting re future plans of ARRL and HAMNET. After a couple years as a
regional appointee in ARES, I got the feeling that the ARRL, FEMA, EM, etc.,
see hams, especially new ones, as an Auxiliary Communications Service for
various government agencies. That must be why ARRL is pushing for wide
digital operation in the CW portions of HF bands.
Unlike when I was involved in ARES 20 years ago, the emphasis is on the
governmental end, it doesn't matter what the operating skill of the Ham is.
Just my take - doesn't have much to do with topic at hand.
John, K4AVX
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