NE-FL D-STAR System

The Journal of the North East Florida D-Star Repeater Network

Archive for category Flagler ARES Admin

MS-150 Message from our SEC

Nov 27

Posted by mikelee in ARES Events, Flagler ARES Admin, Volusia ARES Admin | No Comments

From: Ron (WB4GHU) <WB4GHU@aol.com>

Subject: Re: Final MS-150 Report

Date: November 27, 2010 8:06:22 AM EST

To: Doug Carter (N4FPS) <n4fps.doug@gmail.com>, mike lee <mikelee0531@me.com>, Phil Mcelrath – K5BBC <pmcelrath@me.com>, Eddie Cail KJ4LRB <kj4lrb@hotmail.com>, Rick Reuther (KC2HFL) <KC2HFL@bellsouth.net>, Charlie Kunz <charlie@chaskunz.com>, Robbie Creal (KG4HUF) <rcreal@cfl.rr.com>, Pete Kelleher (KC1SS) <kc1ss@localnet.com>, Steve Craft (K1SGC) <scraft1@cfl.rr.com>

Cc: Cary  Beurshausen (N4CDB) <cary@duvalares.org>, Brian Kopp KC5LPA <brian@thesemaphoregroup.com>, agrayt1@comcast.net, Michael Hendershot (KJ4FEQ) <kj4feq@bellsouth.net>, Ron (WB4GHU) <wb4ghu@arrl.net>, kj4g@arrl.net

______________________________

Good Morning All,

First I would like to personally thank every operator who participated in this event. Your recognition of the need to do your part in a training exercise shows the kind of dedication we need to fulfill our roles as providers of emergency communications support to the public when needed. This is one of the opportunities we have to “give back” for the privilege of holding an amateur operator license. Not only did you participate; you performed very well. Your skill and professionalism are to be highly commended.

Second, I would like the thank the leadership of this event. From the early planning stages to the final report you have demonstrated the insight and management skills it takes to successfully guide your team through an event such as this. At a crucial time in the history of the relationship of ARES and MS-150, I feel quite certain you have salvaged the opportunity to participate in future MS-150 events. This has only been a direct result of the attention to detail you portrayed in the performance of your duties. Thank you for a job very well done!

Please pass this message to all team members who may not receive a direct copy of this e-mail. I sincerely appreciate the time and effort invested by all in this qualified success.

73,

Ron Mettler WB4GHU
Northern Florida SEC

Flagler ARES Meeting – Take Aways

Sep 17

Posted by mikelee in Flagler ARES Admin, Flagler EOC | No Comments

Wednesday evening’s Flagler ARES meeting was primarily the presentation given by Troy Harper, Flagler Emergency Services Chief – regarding the new Flagler Emergency Management Volunteer (FEMV) program that the County is starting and self-managing.

Troy presented the why’s and wherefore’s of the program – all common-sense approaches to solving problems like liability, insurance and outside groups with different agendas which may not be consistent with his County organization.

One of the things that the new organization will be doing, is “assessments” of potential candidates, as well as background checks for ALL applicants (including yours truly) – again, all good things.

All hams, regardless of “group affiliation” need to understand that acceptance into this new group IS NOT AN ENTITLEMENT – the County will be looking for specific types of individuals (skills, experience, personality, team-work, etc) that fulfill THEIR MISSION – and may choose to graciously decline some applications (including mine – if can’t offer something that is of value to them, or if my cost-benefit is too low for their mission).

These are all MY words, not Troy’s (I am not now, and have never been, authorized to speak on their behalf) – but I mention them to emphasize that THIS IS ALL ABOUT SERVING THE EOC’s AGENDA – not our own individual or group aggrandizement.

If you have a pure heart for community service, then we encourage you to apply – they are a great organization that wants to do great things for this community.

more tk

ARES East Coast District – Code of Conduct

Sep 9

Posted by mikelee in Flagler ARES Admin, Volusia ARES Admin | No Comments

As you have already read in an earlier blog posting, Flagler Emergency Services has elected to restructure their handling of volunteers, going away from past practices to an internally managed organization led by Frank Sanita (AA4FS) who is a full-time employee of the County.

Part of their reasoning was to avoid numerous chronic problems that were repeatedly happening on the part of a small segment of the volunteer community – but as in all situations, a few people misbehaving can cause problems for a larger group of well-intending individuals.

After meeting with Emergency Services Chief Troy Harper earlier this year (circa early February), it became apparent that we needed to implement a Code of Conduct for the East Coast District of ARES going forward. Those of you who have completed an ARES application in the district have seen the language, but I thought that it would be appropriate to share that with this larger group, since there have been about 100+ inquiries from across the country and wide-spread acceptance from other groups.

The following disclaimer applies – this is NOT an official ARRL position, policy or document – just one man’s personal belief and his personal “code”. You are free to agree and adopt, or disagree and speak out against any or all of this material.

Above: Code of Conduct (click to enlarge)

Flagler Emergency – Volunteer Briefings Scheduled

Sep 7

Posted by mikelee in Flagler ARES Admin, Flagler EOC | No Comments

Flagler Emergency Services will be holding two briefing sessions for all interested in volunteering their time and services to the agency on a go-forward basis.

As of last week, former relationships with volunteer coordinating agencies have been severed, as the County begins the process of self-managing their volunteer base.

The briefing sessions are open to ALL who would like to attend – and will be hosted by Flagler Emergency Services employees (not clubs or volunteer groups) – this is an official function sanctioned by Troy Harper himself and managed by his hand-picked designates. All meetings will be held in the training room of the Emergency Operations Center.

..

  • Wednesday, 15-Sept at 15:00 and
    ..
  • Wednesday 22-Sept at 18:00

Both meetings will be identical, so there is no need to attend both – either will be fine. Troy and his staff have arranged different times in order to accommodate as many people as possible, realizing that some work day-shift while others may work at night.

I encourage all who are in the Flagler County area to attend one of the sessions, since this is a MAJOR revamp in the manner which the County seeks to recruite, retain, train and deploy their volunteers going forward..!!

Below is the official email that came from Troy earlier today:

Above: Flagler Emergency Services – Volunteer Meetings (click to enlarge)

Flagler EOC Revamps Volunteer Program

Sep 4

Posted by mikelee in ARES Meetings - by County, ARES Training, Flagler ARES Admin, Flagler EOC | No Comments

Well, today is the day..!! This has been a long time coming, but the official announcement of the restructuring of the Flagler Emergency Services Volunteer program has begun.

Previously, the County depended on volunteer groups to obtain their resources – groups like FESV, FECA, CERT, REACT – while it has worked, there have been some persistent problems. As you can imagine, individual clubs have their own agenda (most times in a good way) – but sometimes their agenda is in conflict with the needs of the agencies that they serve (like when clubs solicit the community for “donations” using the name of Flagler Emergency, without the knowledge or consent of the Agency).

This is specifically why A.R.E.S. is NOT a Club – but a nationally recognized Service Organization, with formal MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with local, State and National  governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations and agencies.

As of this announcement (link and image capture below), Flagler County has decided to recruit and retain volunteers under their own management. All recruits must pass criminal background checks, be credentialed, trained and certified to operate various positions and types of equipment. Frank Sanita (AA4FS) is the designated Volunteer Coordinator for Flagler Emergency and is a credentialed employee of the county, serving in an official capacity. We have had the privilege of working closely with Frank over the last 8 months – knowing that the restructuring was going to happen (we’ve known for many months). Frank is a retired LEO from New York, having put his life on the line numerous times in the past – and now serves in a planning, mitigation and response role for Flagler County.

As fair warning (as we have said all along), all Flagler ARES members will need to submit to Flagler County credentialing requirements in order to serve in EOC related operations – however, this will not be required if you only want to serve in non-EOC related functions (like MS-150, etc). Also, completion of the ICS classes (ICS-100, 200, 700 and 800) will be required by the County, as these are minimum standards for all County employees. The classes are free, online and are not difficult to complete.

More information will be forthcoming from Robby Creal, your Flagler EC at the next ARES Meeting.
Below is the announcement and the link to the full content.

Above: Flagler Emergency Volunteer Restructuring (click to enlarge)

Full text at: http://www.flagleremergency.com/pages.php?pid=75

Another New System in Atlantic

Sep 2

Posted by mikelee in Flagler ARES Admin, Tropical Cyclones, Volusia ARES Admin | No Comments

Now 4 in total, SIMULTANEOUSLY:

  • Hurricane Earl – massive at Catagory-4, definitely a factor for the eastern seaboard north of the N&S Carolina border. Stay on alert.
  • Topical Storm Fiona – might not be a factor for us in NE Florida, although might gain strength.
  • Tropical Storm Gaston – all signs and models point to it being on a more southerly track that Earl and Fiona. This one might well hit Florida, so be vigilant. NOW is a good time to insure that you have your Go-Kits ready, your personal items prepared and your PLAN ready.
  • A 4th system, now starting to develop just off the west coast of Africa – is listed as 10% chance of developing into a Tropical cyclone – but this is the same as what we saw from Gaston (which developed into a TD, then TS within about 72 hours).

Florida Emergency Management has requested that all Amateurs prepare their response kits, as well as their personal emergency plans. Although Earl and Fiona may not be a factor for us (subject to change), these other two storms and the ones yet to emerge could well be threats.

Stay alert, stay vigilant and stay prepared.

more tk

NTS versus ICS Messaging Format..??

Aug 26

Posted by mikelee in ARES Training, Flagler ARES Admin, NET Operations, Volusia ARES Admin | 1 Comment

There was some discussion at the Volusia meeting last Tuesday (17-August), with proponents of the NTS radiogram format and why we need to use something else (like the ICS message formats).

Following the meeting, Ed (KA1EHR) asked a very good question via email, asking for my opinions and views. I’ve attached my response below, in the interest of transparency.

Please note – this may NOT be consistent with the official ARRL position – and even though I was speaking that evening as the DEC for East Coast District ARES, the following views are mine alone – but hopefully, they are based on common sense and  clear thinking. The comments are NOT to be viewed as “policy”, but simply one person’s opinion. All are free to disagree (including the League).

Above: Email regarding NTS and ICS  (click to enlarge)

Are we on the path to being obsolete..??!! Certainly, if we don’t keep up with the times, with our Served Agencies and with Technology, we WILL be obsoleted – or somebody with bigger, better and less expensive capability will take our place. Look at Nextel and how they have changed the face of Event Management – in fact, the MS-150 staff will be using Nextel amongst themselves.  In short – we need to be AHEAD of the curve – always pushing, always advancing, always LEARNING in order to stay relevant. What worked (well) in 1950, or 1960 or even 1990 may not apply as well today. We need to constantly assess, change and adopt new solutions where they apply.

DStar is a good example, as are packet, WL2K and other technologies.

Flagler ARES – 17-Aug Official Summary

Aug 20

Posted by mikelee in Flagler ARES Admin | No Comments

here’s the meeting summary file from Robbie (KG4HUF) our EC, and Eddie (KJ4LRB).

FLAGLER COUNTY ARES SUMMARY – 20100817

Flagler ARES Meeting from 18-August

Aug 20

Posted by mikelee in Flagler ARES Admin | No Comments

The monthly Flagler ARES meeting was held Wednesday night at the Flagler EOC. Summary  follows:

  • Robbie opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance
  • Tracking of hours for ARES – remember to include Nets, Repeater Maintenance, Fire Tower volunteerism – anything that is in support of the community by ARES. Hours to be reported to Robbie and Eddie via email.
  • Programs upcoming – September program will be about the MS-150 instead of Traffic Handling.
  • Tonight’s program was about the EMCOMM-1 vehicle by Mike.
  • Meeting adjourned at 20:45

Flagler ARES Meeting – TONIGHT at 19:00

Aug 18

Posted by mikelee in ARES Events, Flagler ARES Admin, Flagler EOC | No Comments

at the Flagler County EOC – Robbie will be discussing the planning and training for the Bike MS-150 event for October 2-3. We will also have EMCOMM-1 at the EOC for those who are interested in seeing one version of an emcomm vehicle. See you there..!!