One Trick Pony?

For quite a while now I have advocated for Ham Radio operators to cross train and learn how to “do” Social Media.

I became interested in the American Red Cross as a ham radio operator. I saw the potential to use my skill-set to help as a disaster communicator. I joined as a volunteer in 1995.

The local chapters used Hams to provide communications in shelter work, and local emergencies, but that was about it.

When I went on my first National disaster assignment, I found that the emphasis for Disaster Communications was telephone installation and fax machine setup. Oh, and tracking cell phones that were issued. Radio communications were used at Mass Care kitchens, for Mobile Feeding coordination and communication, but that was about it.

There were computers for each function, but a network of any sort?  Voodoo magic for sure.  

As I moved up through the experience levels in the Disaster Communications function, and as the 90s passed by, we started to hear talk about “Enterprise solutions”, and combining the DisComm function with the Disaster Computer function. Keep in mind, that the majority of volunteers who deployed on national disaster assignments were retirees. Remember the adage about old dogs and new tricks?  Anything more difficult than a pager was out-of-bounds.

When I left the Red Cross in 2001, we had technology coming out of our ears. ECRVs, Push Kits, Satellite networking, etc.

Gone were the days of only needing linemans plyers, a punchdown tool, some RJ-11 jacks and a box of Twisted 4-pair wire. (I can still recite the 25-pair color codes.)

To remain in the function, you needed to adapt and learn new skills.

The ham radio operator who is interested in remaining useful in Disaster Communications needs to learn and adapt as well.  Don’t throw away the radio, but realize that it’s not the only method anymore.

Also, Hams need to know how to interact with others in disaster operations.

Recently I ran across a posting over at Rakesh Densaer’s blog, The Digital Responder, that discusses this issue, but from a different angle.

Densaer advocates for the creation of a Disaster Technologist:

This calls for a new kind of technology responder, one whose core competency is adapting a range of technologies to the emergency environment.  This is the area of the disaster technologist.

A disaster technologist should have the following skillsets…

1.  Understanding of the emergency environment (e.g. FEMA NIMS/ICS courses, or others depending on response).  This is a fundamental building block since a lack of this understanding means the technologist is operating out of context.

2.  Expertise in multiple technology domains – equally comfortable using multiple methods and multiple modes for communicating.  Why multiple domains?  Because if all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.  What you need are people who have a toolbox full of tools.

3.  Expert collaboration and problem solving skills.   Disaster communications often involves improvising solutions in the field…it will be essential that these individuals are comfortable in the “Iron chef” mode where “making it work” may involve a lot of different sorts of technology and duct tape.  It helps if people play well with others…

But with the aging demographic of Ham Radio licensees, are we again looking at the “Old Dog, New Trick” problem?

It we want to remain relevant to our served agencies/organizations, we owe it to them to learn their procedures and expectations.

True, we have a unique ability to communicate over both long and short distances, but is that enough anymore?  If we stubbornly remain a square peg on a board with round holes, eventually they will find other pegs to plug into their planning holes. Pegs that are adaptable and easier to use.

Hams should put away their hammer of “When All Else Fails” and work on add more tools to the toolbox. How about being relevant before everything fails? How about being KNOWN to your clients beforehand?

Otherwise, we will be the One Trick Pony. The ones they only call for parades.

Get inside your agencies and learn their needs.  Learn how to fill those needs.

Or be relegated to the supply box, next to the Biscuits, POTS and RJ jacks.

Top #SMEM Challenges for 2013: I Don't Have Time!

Interesting information on Virtual Operations Support Teams.

Top #SMEM Challenges for 2013: I Don't Have Time!

Natural Disaster & Emergency Preparedness | Disaster Recovery Plan

I have added this link to my Emergency Preparedness link list, even though it is from a commercial company, and has advertising links all over the page. It is still good information. Hat Tip to Sophie!

Discover how to be prepared for a natural disaster, whether fire, flood, tornado or hurricane. Create a disaster recovery plan for you and your family.

Natural Disaster & Emergency Preparedness | Disaster Recovery Plan

Active WHAT!??

For a couple of days in June, I am going to be a”participant” in our department’s Active Shooter Scenario training at the local high school.

This has disaster potential written all over it.

Why use Clear Text in an incident?

The “us and them” mentality of the Public Safety community has been in existence forever, or so it seems.

The use of abbreviations, 10 Codes and other terms and jargon came into being as a sort of verbal shorthand for personnel to communicate over the radios.  Departments nationwide had 9-Codes, 10-Codes, 11-Codes, Q-Codes, numerical status codes, etc.

Once radio scanners became popular with the consuming public in the 1980s, our fascination with the radio jargon took off. Suddenly, Public Safety personnel who used to speak the equivalent of a foreign language found themselves surrounded by nerds and gadget-geeks who were as eager to learn what these codes and phrases meant as the archaeologists who discovered the Rosetta Stone were.

And then along came the Incident Command System (ICS), and suddenly Public Service agencies were tossed together in the giant bowl that became known as Incident Management.  They had to talk to each other! And even worse, they had to talk to outsiders! Those VOADs that had always been seated at the kid’s table during meetings.

They had to communicate! But, my codes don’t mean the same as their codes do!  What to do!

Behold, the wonder of Common Terminology and Clear Text! 

The ability to communicate within the Incident Command System structure is absolutely critical. During an incident:

• Communications should use common terms or clear text.


• Do not use radio codes, agency-specific codes, acronyms, or jargon.

The goal is to promote understanding among all parties involved in managing an incident.

What a novel concept.  Once you think about it, it makes perfect sense. But…

Why Plain English?

The following meanings of a common acronym illustrate the importance of using clear text.

EMT = Emergency Medical Treatment
EMT = Emergency Medical Technician
EMT = Emergency Management Team
EMT = Eastern Mediterranean Time (GMT+0200)
EMT = Effective Methods Team
EMT = Effects Management Tool
EMT = El Monte, CA (airport code)
EMT = Electron Microscope Tomography
EMT = Email Money Transfer

Get the point?

This is still anathema to some agencies. These are usually the same agencies who went to scrambled, encrypted radio operations as soon as the general public started listening in on radio scanners. Because, you wouldn’t want the crooks to know where the good guys were having coffee, right?

Through retirement and death, hard-held beliefs are changing, and the secretive little core of “tell them nothing” leadership is disappearing.

Plain english on a Police Radio?  Wow.  Does that mean there might be hope for the CB radio crowd? 10-4 good buddy.

Conflict Resolution, or Ham Radio vs Social Media

I am reposting blog entries to my new blog account from the old one.

During a recent Twitter exchange with a Emergency Manager in Oklahoma, who is also an active Ham and a major proponent of SMEM, I asked him if he was worried about a backlash from the ham community regarding the ongoing integration of Social Media into Emergency Management and Response.

He answered “No”, and asked me why I might think that way.  Here was my response: 

"Hams have had the corner on damage assessment for a long time, with ATV and such. Now the "kids" come along with their Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, etc, and can send back high def images of the area in 1/10th the time that Hams can. You ask why hams would have a conflict? Why does a small town have 2-3 separate radio clubs? Why are online ham forums filled with "spirited debate?" Pettiness, pride, no longer being the "only one who can help," etc.

"The ARRL promotes "When All Else Fails," but a lot of hams out there think that they should be the ONLY "else."

"Now, once the cell grid overloads, or goes down, then 2-way radio comes into it’s own, but until that point, there will always be the potential for friction.

"The trick is for the ham to master social media so that they can indeed "do it all" in the field, and leave the ego/pride/attitudes at home."

For this blog post, I have elaborated on what I mean with the following information.

Ham Radio has always been on the cutting edge of technology. But now, with cellular 4G speeds and wi-fi hotspots, we run the risk of being relegated to “second string” in emergency response circles.

Your average smart phone owner can snap a high definition picture of a scene, or damaged house, upload it to a number of different photo sharing sites online, post it to Facebook and have it show up on the EOC’s Facebook page before you could pick up your radio, give your call sign and your current location.  In addition, most of the pictures are GPS tagged with the location of the photo, so they automatically show where on the map the damage is located.

How do we stay current and relevant?  When disaster comes calling, and he takes out the cell phone systems, and the grid goes down, Amateur Radio will always be there.

But what about in the minutes/hours/days before everything “goes south,” if it ever does? How many disasters are there that occur, where the communications systems stay in place and our “last resort communications” are not needed?

Become Social Media Savvy! Learn how to use your smart phone. You don’t have one? Turn in your brick phone and join the 21st Century.

If you are part of an ARES group, or a RACES group, or SkyWarn, or whatever, learn if your served agencies are using Social Media, and interact with them! For example, some NWS locations are now taking storm spotter reports via Twitter! The American Red Cross has a major Social Media presence.

When you’re the only contact they have with a site, because of your radio gear, you are a default “Trusted Resource”. They have to believe, and act on, what you relay to them from the field.  You need to become that Trusted Resource on social media, too.

They should have the confidence to look at what you send in and think, “Oh, that’s (your name). He/She always sends us reliable information.” Or if not you, personally, then your radio group.

Too many times I have heard hams say “I only do radio.” Why not be the guy who also does YouTube video from the scene? Or, if you have good signal strength, maybe Skype Video, or one of the Instant Message video services?  Just like Fast Scan (Amateur) TV allows front-line hams to send back video to the EOC, cellular technology allows you to do the same, but with higher resolution and faster transfer speeds.

“In these really big disasters, the initial response is generally not government. It’s individuals helping each other, trying to find out what’s going on. … we kind of have this barrier, because the public isn’t official. It’s not an official source of information… But we’ve seen now in the U.S., from wildfires in California and Boulder to the recent ice storm and snowstorms…the public is putting out better situation awareness than many of our own agencies can with our official datasets.”

Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator

More and more, Emergency Managers are using social media not only to deliver prevention and mitigation messages, but also use these platforms to engage the public in a dialogue and encourage feedback on efforts to keep the public safe and secure.

By becoming active in Social Media, you are just adding to your disaster response skill set.

When all else fails, Amateur Radio will stand in the breach. But, don’t you want to do your part in advance of that? Make yourself as relevant in the small situations as you are in the big ones.

Goodbye ECRV

Today, the ARRL put out a news release stating that the American Red Cross was phasing out their Emergency Communications Response Vehicles.

The American Red Cross has made the decision to phase out and decommission its Emergency Communication Response Vehicles (ECRVs), due to changes in technology, as well as a new satellite system and other factors regarding the vehicle fleet. “Retrofitting the decade-old vehicles with new equipment is not a good use of donated funds, as the long-term strategy is to move to more portable systems,” American Red Cross Disaster Services Technology Manager Keith Robertory, KG4UIR, told the ARRL. “This is consistent with the trends in the telecom and technology industries.”

I worked at NHQ when the concept was first being refined, and I was responsible for all of the vehicle graphics on the prototype.

The ECRVs have served well, and it will be interesting to see what takes their place in the near future.  According to Mr Robertory, “every communication capability of the ECRV already exists — or will soon exist — as a rapidly deployable kit that can be loaded on any vehicle that is owned or rented by the American Red Cross, providing more flexibility in shaping its response to match the disaster.”

And what about the radios and equipment installed in the trucks?  Well, the Red Cross will remove the Amateur Radios from the ECRVs and either roll them into deployable inventory, or provide them to the local chapter to help build local capacity.

“From a radio perspective, the American Red Cross has a variety of different kits for amateur, business and public safety bands covering HF, VHF and UHF with portable radios, mobile units and base stations,” he explained. “Two-way radio remains a valuable tool, providing communications in the initial days or weeks of a disaster, until normal communications is restored. Each American Red Cross chapter should continue with — and improve — the relationship with their local Amateur Radio operators. In a disaster, Amateur Radio will be the fastest deployed radio network because operators already live in the impacted communities.”

Hams who were responsible for staffing the vehicles, and who are now concerned about how this change will affect their ability to serve the Chapter can be assured that opportunities will exist for their expertise. can move into other volunteer rolls within their chapters, 

“This should not be seen as a setback for those radio amateurs who are working with the American Red Cross,” said ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. “In disaster response, adaptability is critical and keeping up with new technology is essential. This all must be done with a mind toward an effective and efficient response. Amateurs have played an important role in assisting the American Red Cross with their mission and I know we will continue to do so in the future.”

The entire news release can be read here.