With due respect I think that is more local.

MARS and CAP up here have been pleading with us for cooperation and
they have been great for outreach efforts.

There is room for cooperation with them, especially since they have an
"in" with Government resources that we may not.

73
Ria, N2RJ

On Mon, 24 Aug 2020 at 19:05, Lee Cooper <w5lhc01@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Although I do believe that we need, of course, to work with any and all organizations when it comes to emergency response I would like to comment on a couple things with MARS specifically.
>
> In our Division we have always had a close working relationship with MARS, most which were not only MARS but also ARES /RACES.  For many years we worked side by side on disaster responses, primarily Hurricanes.  THEN, the DOD folks decided that MARS needed to get out of the civilian response activities and focus purely on DOD needs. They were told to essentially step back from many of the programs we worked on jointly.  Then about 4-5 years ago they approached us with this concept -mentioned in the paragraph below dealing with Infrastructure reporting.
>
> A significant part of MARS’ emphasis of late has been to obtain status information on local, county and state systems (utilities, airports, roads and transportation, public health facilities, etc.), and consolidating into MARS message format and forwarding same to federal officials whom in a real event where conventional communications
> systems failed would then be best positioned to deploy assistanceresources based upon that information.
>
> This sounded good to us and felt like a good fit between the two organizations and we even did a few exercises to test.  Two things came out of those exercises.
>
> 1. IF we were not on 60 meters they would not talk to us. They required ARES, which here on HF is primarily 40/80 meters to change. They would not.
>
> 2. At one time we could have updated them via Winlink but they have now walked away from that and are using more "secure" protocols.
>
> But the biggie was when Hurricane Harvey came through and I asked them if they wanted us to send them SITREPS with Infrastructure updates and I was told that a hurricane was not a "big enough event" for them to activate the program we had tested.  I asked "What is a big enough event?" and was told that essentially DOD did not care unless there was a mushroom cloud as part of the event.  Thus essentially ended this program.
>
> So, while I appreciate the gentlemen's concern about communications between ARES and MARS the reality is that DOD/ MARS is not really interested. (Well to be honest I think many of its members are but DOD has told them to stand down).  I, therefore, do not see this as a failure on the part of ARES. We have offered. DOD is not interested.
>
> Lee
>
> Lee H. Cooper, PMP, CKM, CKF, CSM, ITILv3, LSSGB, W5LHC
> Vice Director, West Gulf Division
> ARRL - National Association of Amateur Radio
> w5lhc@arrl.org
> (512) 658-3910
>
> "He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat" - N.B.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 24, 2020 at 4:07 PM rjairam@gmail.com <rjairam@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Fellow ODV -
>>
>> Please see the note below concerning MARS. I have been trying over the
>> last year and a half to get some traction on this, but between
>> leadership changes we haven't gotten much done. I am hoping since we
>> now have a new emcomm director AND a new permanent CEO starting next
>> month that we can finally get something done.
>>
>> MARS' mission is closely aligned with ours and those that I know in
>> this area are very dedicated to their mission.
>>
>> It is definitely an alliance worth strengthening.
>>
>> 73
>> Ria, N2RJ
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>> From: Ken Brown <W2KB@arrl.net>
>> Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2020 at 17:02
>> Subject: MARS Region concern with ARRL HQ Communications with its Sections
>> To: <ria@n2rjcom>, <n2rj@arrl.org>
>>
>>
>> Hi Ria,
>>
>>
>>
>> As the NJ Air Force MARS commander, I wish to make you aware of a
>> concern expressed by one of the MARS region (Army) or wing (Air Force)
>> leaders which arose the other day during a webinar reviewing the
>> results of the recent emergency drill COMEX 20-3, which among other
>> things interfaced with ARES and other ham groups.  The comment was
>> made in reply to the below item in Chief Army MARS’ presentation:
>>
>>
>>
>> “Improves
>>
>> We still need to work on liaising better with ARS community (more
>> advanced notice, simplified instruction, read ahead of 60 meter TTP
>> manual, working with state-level ARRL and other leadership; consider
>> MARS MOUs at HQ to HQ level with ARRL, SATERN, RACES, etc.)”
>>
>>
>>
>> A significant part of MARS’ emphasis of late has been to obtain status
>> information on local, county and state systems (utilities, airports,
>> roads and transportation, public health facilities, etc.), and
>> consolidating into MARS message format and forwarding same to federal
>> officials whom in a real event where conventional communications
>> systems failed would then be best positioned to deploy assistance
>> resources based upon that information.  Ham radio in general, with
>> emphasis on ARES and NTS operators, is viewed as a significant source
>> of obtaining such information for MARS members to acquire and forward
>> to the federal concerned federal agencies, simulating the complete
>> failure of other means of communication.  Hence is why the MARS Chiefs
>> feel that an MOU with ARRL to gain a better understanding of the
>> mutual needs and benefits would be advisable.
>>
>>
>>
>> The region leader commented to the effect that ARRL HQ does not appear
>> to have much communication with or provide sufficient guidance and
>> direction to the Section level appointees, and in particular ARES and
>> NTS Section leaders.  It appears that the commentator did not think
>> that entering into a memorandum of understanding between MARS and the
>> League would be of much benefit for that reason.  I am not certain
>> from which region or wing the comment was made, and so far a link to a
>> recording has not been made available, so I cannot review it to
>> determine the origin of the concern.  I am reasonably certain that the
>> comment was not made by a representative of MARS Region 2 / Wing 2
>> which includes the Hudson Division.
>>
>>
>>
>> Here in NNJ the communication by and with W2VTV concerning the MARS
>> COMEXs has been exemplary, but if the commentator’s assertion has any
>> validity in other Sections or Divisions, it is something to keep in
>> mind should the MARS Chiefs pursue the MOI with the League.  I’ll keep
>> you informed should I learn of any further developments.  Please feel
>> free to ask me any questions, and especially so should this matter be
>> presented to the ARRL Board if I may be of assistance.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you for your outstanding efforts on behalf of the Amateur Radio community!
>>
>>
>>
>> 73,
>>
>>
>>
>> ---Ken Brown - W2KB
>>
>>     W2KB@ARRL.net
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