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1-1 of 1 messages
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To those interested in MARS
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Reply
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by N4WWL on October 6, 2009
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Mail this to a friend!
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To those interested in MARS:
My name is Dave and I serve as the U.S. Air Force MARS Public Information Officer for both Region III and the Northeast Area. Region III consists of DC, DE, MD, PA VA, and WV. The Northeast Area includes all of Regions I, II, and III, which includes many of the country’s major metropolitan areas, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.
I have been a Virginia Air Force MARS member since 1991, but was only recently appointed to the Region and Area public affairs positions. Seeing many of the postings on this forum prompted me to introduce myself and make a few observations about Air Force MARS – its mission, organization, activities, and affiliate members.
A number of the concerns raised here have dealt with the evolving nature of the overall MARS mission – especially in light of recent developments with the Navy/Marine Corps MARS program and the Army MARS “Road Ahead” program. Yes, the program is changing. But I share the view of one poster who stated “you get out of it what you put into it.” I consider MARS to be a worthwhile endeavor and hope that new MARS members will also find it worthwhile.
Some see MARS through the prism of its former focus on passing morale message traffic to service personnel stationed abroad. Those whose see MARS through this frame of reference may think of it as an outmoded service that has outlived its usefulness in the age of cellphones, satellites, computers, and the internet. But the day-to-day activities of MARS operators have transitioned from simply passing morale messages to being more tightly integrated into the nation’s emergency communications planning system. As such, MARS still has a relevant and important role to play in the event of natural or man-made disasters or emergencies at the local, state, and national levels. This is especially true as we rely more and more on technologically sophisticated electronics and components that are vulnerable to failures caused by inadvertent and unexpected problems or deliberate actions. (Who hasn’t at one time or another suffered from the loss of internet connectivity or cell phone/BlackBerry service? And don’t trash that old vacuum tube transceiver just yet….)
In talking with other amateur radio operators and scanning the message board postings, I get a sense there are still amateurs out there who are interested in MARS and who would like to become part of this organization. If this describes you, I am certain your presence as part of the MARS community would be greatly welcomed.
I would encourage anyone interested in Air Force MARS to contact me directly with any questions or information requests. I’ll answer as frankly as I can and do my best to help, or to put you in touch with someone who can. You don’t have to live in Region III or the Northeast Area – it doesn’t matter to me if you are in Kansas, California, or Hawaii. Feel free to drop me a line regardless. (Of course, if you’re in Hawaii and would care to invite me out to discuss MARS in person, I’d be happy to do so!)
For those who might be considering the Air Force MARS program, there is a basic introductory PowerPoint slide show presentation available at the following web site: http://marsregionone.org/PR_Material/PR-Presentation-Rev.zip. The presentation highlights the mission, organization, and some of the activities in which Air Force MARS is involved.
Oh, and just to say it, although I’m affiliated with Air Force MARS, the Army and Navy-Marine Corps MARS programs consist of equally dedicated volunteers and they would certainly welcome new members as well. If that’s your preference, go for it! If you can’t find the right people to talk to in those programs, let me know and I’ll try and link you up with someone who can help.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if I can answer any questions. You can e-mail me directly at N4WWL@ARRL.NET.
73 to all,
Dave
N4WWL/AFA3TR
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