During the Cuban crisis, I, and a bunch of other hams, were working ‘can to can’t’ getting the communications equipment in the tanks and other units ready for deployment at Fort Hood. We had turned our hobby into our vocation.
I currently support a seven county, thirteen hospital amateur radio network and two county EOCs. I also sent equipment to the Katrina recovery and was planning to go myself. We have had to support one of the EOCs on two occasions when the state of the art center took lightning hits.
My Katrina deployment plan was reworked when another Lady of the Gulf, Rita, headed toward Texas. Our area, the initial target area, was spared, but we, hams and other volunteers, worked the shelters for two weeks.
The ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) group to my south sent a repeater and operators to reestablish communications for the first responders in an East Texas Community.
Establisting the hospital network required over a thousand hours of my time and supporting it requires ten to twenty hours a month. We have been asked to add three more hospitals.
I also support a wide area repeater that covers all or part of twenty counties. This is a resource used extensively by the National Weather Service during severe weather situations (SKYWARN). There are about a hundred hams, scattered over mostly rural areas, that report their observations directly to Fort Worth via the repeater and a facility called ECHOLINK.
The information is passed on via the EAS system(weather radio) and local media within a very few minutes of the observation being reported. BTW, I have a meeting in the morning with the FTW severe weather meteorologist to plan for the upcoming tornado season.
I could go on but I have to prepare for an amateur radio license class that starts Monday. At least half of the students are ‘professional’ first responders.
I reserve a little time for sleep between my amateur radio activities and time spent on FR. My amateur radio signature is:
Joe Dorn, W5VEX, Belton, Texas
Trustee W5BEC 147.140 (PL 123), Echolink W5BEC-R (Node 99000)
Bell County EOC Reservist
Instructor & Mentor ARRL EC Courses (Over 190 students and counting)
Instructor: United States Power Squadrons’ Weather Course
Central Texas Trauma Council Amateur Radio Coordinator
Have Ham Tests, Will Travel!!!