GREENE COUNTY — The Greene County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (GCARES) will be participating in a Simulated Emergency Test (SET) Saturday Oct. 6.
GCARES members will be operating amateur radios from a variety of served agencies such as the County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), Greene County Public Health, Greene Memorial Hospital and fire stations in Beavercreek, Bellbrook, Fairborn and Sugarcreek Township. The SET is designed to assess the skills and preparedness of Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers and the readiness of their equipment and antennas during simulated emergency conditions.
Each ARES group has the option of designing its SET to match local needs and conditions, but all are part of the primary national emergency exercise sponsored by ARRL, the national organization for Amateur Radio. Although the main SET weekend this year is Oct. 6-7, exercises may take place throughout the fall. The 2018 ARRL SET is an open invitation for all radio amateurs interested in expanding their emergency preparedness knowledge and skill.
Since the exercise takes place on a weekend some agencies are closed and unable to participate. Greene County ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC) Henry Ruminski, W8HJR, thanked all agencies for their cooperation with special thanks to Rosanne Anders, Greene County EMA Director, and Kim Caudill, Emergency Response Coordinator, Greene County Public Health, for their participation on a Saturday morning for the SET.
In addition to ARES volunteers, radio amateurs active in the National Traffic System, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), SKYWARN™, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), and a variety of other allied groups and public service-oriented radio amateurs will fill important roles in this nationwide exercise.
At the national level, ARRL has established formal working relationships with partner organizations and agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American National Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the National Weather Service, and Citizen Corps. For more details on these organizations and how they work with ARRL and Amateur Radio operators visit ARRL.org.
