Should I join?

[COZ]

I'm considering joining the MARS program. I'm reading conflicting things here that this offers no real value anymore and could be discontinued. I was wondering if I could start a dialog here of the pro's and con's of MARS. Thanks

[KA0P]

I would suggest you try to contact some members in your area if possible. There are still 3 individual service MARS programs, Army, AF, and Navy.  Do you have a service preference? Since I am ex AF, I leaned toward AF Mars, even though Army Mars was more active in my area. In our North Central division there are area nets 6-7am, 8-9am, and 7-10pm central time. You will find that you will get out of Mars what you put into it. I have seen people join and give up after a few months, and I have seen people join as quickly rise to net control and volunteer leadership positions.  I recommend you speak with a person, either in person or on phone  and not rely on email discussions entirley if possible.   I recommend you monitor the nets you will be participating in so you can get some idea of the activity you will be taking part in. That info will only be available by phone or individual email as we are restricted from publicly giving out Mars frequencies. (you might look at some of the SWL magazines like Monitoring times).
The main reasons I have seen folks dissatisfied are ,
1. Initially they did not have full info. I have seen people join without ever having heard a Mars net, or know what Mars was really about. Some did not even have HF equipment when joining.
2. As most of our frequencies are in the lower HF range, 100watts and a good dipole are really needed, 10 watts to the rain gutter will be frustrating . I have tried that.

If you are in a rural area, there may not be a member of any of the services near you.

There have been lots of rumors about consolidation and major changes, but those rumors have been around since the military started scaling back their Mars operations in the early 1990s, and none of them have happened yet, 20 years later.

Our AF Mars website for north central area is very good, just google-- North Central area USAF mars  for the link.

You will probably need some type of digital capability- one of the soundcard modes .

If I can be of further help. let me know

73, Dave KA0P

[N9KWW]

I am Navy MARS, but we have AF MARS members join us on some of our nets and we join in on some of theirs as well.  MARS has changed and yet remained the same, we still have the same training nets and we still hold training on a regular basis, but we have changed is that our net procedures and messages are all the same between the three services. We are not consolidated but we all share the same spectrum and procedures. Additionally we all do things the same way, a change from the past. We are ECOM driven and that is our primary mission just as it always has been.  In MARS you get out of it what you put into it, most go in with a good attitude and thrive. Lots of positions and interests to satisfy most people. We do have experimentation of sorts such as ALE and many digital modes.
   In Wisconsin where I am at Army MARS is almost nonexistent, but we have a very large AF and Navy presence and we work together in many exercises and different projects. This all came about because of a new member putting in the time and effort to make the changes we needed to make this joint relationship a reality. Like it has been said before you get what you put into it. MARS is a great place to have fun, get valuable training and  have an opportunity to become have leadership position and community involvement. If you have any questions please fell free to e-mail me and you can check out the Navy MARS web site as well. Most of our site is unrestricted, but some information is confidential in nature and thus restricted.
Ron
NNN0GCE FOUR/ NNN0VAG

[COZ]

Thank you both for the great summaries.  I'm in New York City now but I'm moving to Long Island this year and I'm trying to plan my future setup. When I get closer to applying, I will email you with some further questions. Hopefully by this summer. Best regards

James
KD2COZ