SPARCS Ham Radio Emergency Communication

OPERATION LONE STAR BRIEFING

This year’s exercise will run from July 28th through August 1 and involve local Ham Radio two-meter systems from the Lower RGV, Laredo and El Paso.  Prior to the exercise beginning on Monday July 28th the STARS group in the Valley will monitor the STARSLINK network for arriving Med Rangers coming into the Valley during the 26th and 27th, Saturday and Sunday.

During the exercise repeaters will connect the Texas State Guard Medical Rangers deployed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley with Texas State Guard Medical Rangers deployed in Laredo and El  Paso.  Said Sgt. Newton of the Medical Rangers, “Our primary intentions in the area of Ham Radio will be to practice and work with ham radio teams in the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and El Paso to the extent where we can gain additional knowledge and experience that we can use when the need arises in a real emergency such as a large hurricane striking the Lower Valley area”. 

Texas State Guard Med Rangers have requested that the Lower RGV and Laredo areas be interconnected in real time using current IRLP or Echolink capabilities.  Our IRLP connection is being configured by Pat N5SLI and hopefully will be available to the Med Rangers by their arrival.  We’ll also be using Echolink to backup, possibly as the primary connection depending upon how our IRLP efforts succeed.

The Medical Rangers battalion begins arriving on Saturday and Sunday July 26 and 27 for Operation Lone Star 2008 which actually begins Monday morning July 28th.  Our Lower Rio Grande Valley Ham Radio efforts will be focused on both the arrival of the troops on the way down and providing the STARLINK two meter communications system between Laredo and Lower Rio Grande Valley locations via IRLP and/or ECHOLINK.

PHASE ONE:  July 26th and July 27th

Local volunteer ham operators will be scheduled to monitor the Valley STARS repeater link system for the purpose of offering directions, highway information, Hotel and Motel information and old fashioned ham radio fellowship for the arriving State Guard Medical Rangers.  If you are able to volunteer for a two or three hour shift, or longer please email a message to k5rew@sparcstakeout.us.  Remove the “takeout” in the email address in your email program. It should read sparcs dot us.  

PHASE TWO:  July 28th through August 1st.

Local volunteer hams will be assigned to instruct, monitor and assist Medical Ranger communications team members in activating and operating IRLP or ECHOLINK systems in order to connect with the members of the other Med Ranger teams dispatched to Laredo using the Laredo two-meter network there.  A copy of the instructions will be provided to those who can volunteer.

On the Medical Ranger end, they will be striving to coordinate and familiarize new as well as experienced ham radio operators (who will be assembling along the Rio Grande River from across the State), in operating ham radio communications using two meters both in repeater and simplex mode and the use of IRLP and ECHOLINK in “reaching beyond” when such systems actually survive in large scale disaster situations.  July 2006 which was the first planned use of local ham radio operators with a Military unit anywhere saw that a priority was placed on ”simplex” two-meter communications.  Current planning indicates a worst-case scenario with doubtful survivability of radio towers, electricity and repeater networks in the path of a landfall hurricane.  ”We’re supposed to be the service that provides communications when all else fails,” said K5REW a member of the STARS network, CHARRO Ham Radio Club, US Navy MARS, and the DHS SHARES HF Network, and volunteer in the City of Brownsville and Cameron County Emergency Operations Centers.  ”The Amateur Radio Service is a great technology-base for lots of “whiz bang” gadgets and electronic projects, but when it comes to providing disaster communications which is what Hams are famous for, we have to depend on the fact that we do what we do without infrastructure. Once we depend upon infrastructure to accomplish our customer’s expecations, we’re sunk”. 

During this exercise you may hear new hams and old using the local system.  They couldn’t be in a better place to have wonderful people with ham radio licenses standing by who will be more than glad to help out.  Don’t be bashful to jump in and provide assistance if you hear a strange call sign having a brief challenge in practicing their new skills. And especially if you hear someone requesting information. We’ll be hosting these hams as our Guests in their stay here in the Valley with us, and hope to be responsive and informative to their needs, best can be.