David L. Antry, Jr., WD9HBA, has been named Chief of the Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS).
MARS is a Field Operating Agency of the US Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC) and HQ Cyberspace Capabilities Center (CCC).
Prior to his new assignment, Antry served as a Logistics Manager in the 635th Supply Chain Operations Wing War Reserve Materiel Program Integration Office.
He enlisted in the US Air Force in January of 1985 and worked in Avionics. He received a Palace Chase assignment in 1989 and spent the rest of his uniformed career working in Avionics and Supply for the Air National Guard.
Antry retired from the 126th Air Refueling Wing at the Scott Air Force Base in October 2011 with the rank of E-7, Master Sergeant. In addition to his daily Air Force duties, Antry has voluntarily served with Air Force MARS since November 2012 as a member of the amateur radio community, operating both Very High Frequency (VHF) and High Frequency (HF) radio equipment.
Prior to being named Chief of MARS, he served as Operations Officer for the 51st Air Force MARS Communications Group.
Reid Snider, N4SPY, Public Information Officer of US Air Force MARS, said Antry brings with him a broad skill set for MARS operations. "Chief Antry has the understanding, knowledge, ability, and respect to help Air Force MARS plan and position its programs for communications of [the] future," said Snider.
Today, US Air Force MARS is an organization of about 800 licensed amateur radio operators who volunteer their time and radio equipment to assist government agencies in the event that normal communications channels are disrupted, either by natural calamity or deliberate hostile action.
MARS members are trained to meet the requirements of any communications emergency. In recent years, greater interoperability between the Air Force and the Army has facilitated accomplishment of this objective. Individual civilian MARS stations operate throughout the continental US alongside civil agencies and military MARS stations in the US and overseas.
Antry will be stationed at the Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. He has been a licensed amateur radio operator since 1977.
For more information about Air Force MARS https://www.mars.af.mil/, visit their website.
Source:
The ARRL Letter