Slow lingering death of MARS.

[KK4LOZ]

^^^^ Bump ^^^^

I know I'm late to the party here, but I'll offer my .02 anyway.

MARS is what first drew my interest to ham radio.  During my first WESTPAC cruise (1985) I got a Red Cross message that my grandmother in Pennsylvania had passed away.  I had to send a MARS message back home.  I didn't know what that was but I played along.  As I finished writing out the message, the radioman helping me asked if there was anything else I wanted to add.  I was just being a wise guy and I said, "Yeah, send cake rolls".  Two months later I get a large care package.  In it were 6 boxes of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls.  .....Oh, the chocolate was all melted, but we enjoyed them just the same.  

It wasn't until after that cruise that I discovered my message had been passed word for word in very short order and that they'd read my words at my grandmother's eulogy.

...Fast forward some 7 years later and I'm in a naval dental clinic where someone has left a copy of QST in the waiting room.  On the cover is an article header that got my attention, "Voices from MARS".  I put that copy of QST in my back pocket and took it home, where the dream of a new and expensive hobby took root.  I recall that day fondly.   The wife,.....not so much.  

[WB4TJH]

I belonged to Army MARS in the 70s and 80s, and even then it was yawn city. Today, it's as dead as the planet Mars.

[W5BPP]

OK, I got 2 Cents worth also.....
I joined Mars to expand my understanding and HF radio uses for EMCOM. I would recommend Mars for anyone wanting to expand their HF communications knowledge. Mars uses several digital modes, and you can become proficient in their use. Mars also allows uses of digital modes and speeds that are not yet allowed on the Ham bands. I some instances Mars uses HF with digital encryption to transfer messages. Especially for supported agencies. Mars uses HF frequencies outside of the Ham bands, allowing for more usable frequencies available in the event of a major disaster event when some Ham frequencies are very crowded and congested. While it is true the advent of the internet and cell phones have circumvented some of the need for HF communications, It is also true in a major event the loss of cell and internet connections can adversely effect their use. This is when Mars operations can and does assist our supported agencies, using HF, to relay email and messages to stations many miles away that are connected to the cell and internet services.  The Mars mission has been changed from it early years, but its far from death! If you are interested, contact a Mars member and ask some questions! I think you will be somewhat surprised at our current mission objectives.

[KF7Z]

Now the MARS folks seem to think they will get used when a local Governement requests them, kind of like ARES. I doubt the Military will be willing to spend money to mobilize civilian volunteers to support anything. Possibly a new organization under FEMA, or something along those lines. . .

Sorry that this sounds cynical, but the way the DOD and other D's of the Federal Government operate these days, they might be required by Congress to spend more by just contracting it out to "friends of the family".

[W7KKK]

I have to agree that MARS is not needed like it was before.
I too ran phone patches from Fort Huachuca, AZ as a casual operator while stationed at the fort at a radio op and radio operator instructor. My NCOIC had something to do with the station and had me sit in at times to give the regular ops some time off. That was in the late 1960s.
It was needed and desired then and I felt useful doing what we did.
Many years later, after getting my ham ticket back from my days as a Novice, I found that the MARS station was active and I was again living in the Fort Huachuca area. I found out that a local club member was involved with the station and I went out to visit the station and found it is true in that "you cannot go home again".
Wow had things changed! It was just not the same at all other than the same building.
With improvements in communications technology on all fronts MARS and ham radio for that matter is more or less a dying breed.

[AE7VA]

Check out the Army MARS FaceBook page.  They are quite active and post pictures of their HQ station and operating activities.

[WD8DBY]

Come check us out:

https://www.facebook.com/HQArmyMARS

[KO3D]

When I first mentioned getting licensed to my father, he immediately related going to a MARS station in Vietnam and talking to my mother. Obviously those days are past. I think MARS would be a natural pool of operators and frequencies for serious EMCOMM use, a step above the current ARES / RACES 2M clubs and their orange vested wannabes. Perhaps it needs to be transferred to FEMA and given a more current mission?