I just sat through a Red Cross shelter presentation where the presenter as much as said, We don t really need you guys, we have our own radios. If you show up, be ready to be trained for a needed task, as you will be bored otherwise. Not exactly what the group expected to hear.
I guess I have to ask, why is this such a surprise? Consider that these folks need to absolutely have communications. It's really not feasible for them to rely on ham operators that are volunteers to show up and do the communications thing in all situations and conditions and be prepared to do so at a moments notice regardless of their current situation.
There are a couple hard truths to ham radio and it's operators.
First is we are aging. Have you been to a ham fest in the last 5 years? It looks like a field trip from the old folks home. I understand that Ensure and Depends will both have booths at Dayton next year right next to Kenwood and Icom. When it ACTUALLY hits the fan, are these fols going to be in any condition to come out and operate? And here is where the rubber meets the road. I have a chain saw, road flares and tow ropes that sit at the ready to be tossed in my van so I can go to work during a disaster. I am a commercial radio tech when I get called, it's from a 911 center or some public safety agency that has a radio problem. Yes, I have had to cut my way down a road, or up a hill to a tower site to get communications back up for a Sheriffs office. that was actually me and two deputies with chain saws, and we still had to hike part of it, and we were in a HMVEE. But I get paid to do that and it's part of my job. Is some 60 yr old guy gonna be able to do that? Maybe, but probably not. But the Red Cross NEEDS communications. So they went out and bought radios and a system and they now have their own comms.
The second thing is we are VOLUNTEERS. Meaning that we can show up or not and they have no control over that. So again, they are better off to have their own people there doing ti so they know it's going to get done.