“I think you miss the mark.”
I think “openurmind’s” question was a legitimate one...and the very same question I was thinking when I bookmarked this thread. I will admit, I know nothing about ham radio...or that type of equipment at all... except for military experience. But, I always thought ham radio really shined in emergencies. There was also the question for me as to whether the use of ham ready might create a target for the enemy. Now I know.
Volunteer hams listened to German military and other transmissions and passed on the info to the code breakers.
During war, if you allowed all hams to transmit, there could be some spies mixed in and you'd never know it.
Then there is the problem of making yourself a very easy target when you key up your transmitter.
In natural disasters cripple a region, RF is still there. And in those cases, Amateur Radio fills a void.
I operated a Navy/Marine Corp MARS station out of my home for 19 years.
That no longer exists, I dropped out in 1995, it did not last long after that. Homeland Security has some connection to ARES and RACES, coordinated somewhat by the ARRL.
Thank you, see #14