Chief, Army MARS Net Notes, 13 February 2009

Good evening, Army MARS members and guests from Navy-Marine Corps and Air Force MARS, and fellow amateurs monitoring this net.

I'm very pleased with the new Army MARS Training guide, a summation of lessons learned in the recent past and our roadmap to the long-range future. And for the first time ever, as far as I can determine, I'm asking all members of Army MARS-100 percent of the membership of Army MARS--to set aside their own plans and make a three-month-long commitment to intensive training. In my humble opinion it is essential we all (long in MARS and not so long in MARS) operate from the same perspectives/training/point in time, as we adjust our processes to meet the current and future needs of Army MARS in the EMCOM community.

This was a serious decision for me. But if you think about it, there's a definite resemblance between the effort I'm asking of you now and the kind of mobilization that would be required in some grave national emergency in the future. A very real resemblance-- except of course that in an actual catastrophe there wouldn't be the advance notice I giving you today, short as it is.

By the way, the short notice isn't part of a training scenario. It is dictated by the need to complete the 12-week MARS 101 cycle before the vacation season, and I simply don't have the luxury to postponing it until autumn, when Thanksgiving gets in the way. I ask your understanding, your support and your best effort in working with me to bring our readiness up to the new standards of NIMS.

I have these FOUR items for this evening's net:

1—The Road Ahead and NIMS.

2—Abbreviated calls and busy nets.

3—A malware threat to region and state web pages.

4—A special tribute in honor of today, 14 FEB (ZULU time)

More background on the Road Ahead.

Your e-mail will be full of the Army MARS Road Ahead next week, but one thing needs to be said now. It is an excellent piece of work by the Tiger Team. I approved it this week. It will be sent to all Army MARS members, and will be posted on the Army MARS website next week too. A very BIG THANKS to the Tiger Team.

From time-to-time in MARS documents and on this net, you'll encounter something quoted from the National Incident Management System. I take it as a matter of pride how frequently NIMS encapsulates in formal doctrine something we in MARS take as common-sense or second nature. For example this line from the new ICS 700A Internet course:

"NIMS integrates the best practices into a comprehensive, standardized framework that is flexible enough to be applicable across the full spectrum of potential incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity"

I want to emphasize two elements of that mission statement: "best practices" and "flexibility." These are what the Army MARS Road Ahead is all about. Best practices means the procedures that you, as members, contributed to developing over the years every time you checked into a net, drafted a message, listed traffic, or opened a net, etc. Best practices evolved from the experience you helped accumulate. Flexibility is a core component of the Road Ahead – the flexibility to handle any situation however unprecedented, by applying your training and experience to craft a confident response on your own initiative. Or as I like to paraphrase our message to the agencies we support: "We're here to help. What can we do for you?"

Now, there's something you can do for MARS. Next week after you see the Road Ahead, take a week to read it, in small bites, and digest it at your leisure. Then give me your best as you complete the MARS 101 course starting next month.

Abbreviated net calls revisited

At some point in the future it will be appropriate to re-examine the Joint MARS Voice SOP in light of experience gained over the past year of using it. One specific provision has been questioned by several members: the requirement for making full calls when checking in to a net each time we speak.

This provision comes from the joint NATO SOP known as Allied Communications Publications (ACP). It does indeed consume a measurable amount of useful time especially on the larger region nets where calls are so copious and propagation sometimes dubious.

As one member said to me, "After the net control's initial net call the check-ins know who the NCS is, and the NCS knows who he is. What is the purpose of repeating his call sign over and over and over again?"

It's an interesting point and I'd like to hear others' thoughts. U.S. forces are, of course, committed to practicing NATO's international usage and with obvious good reason.

I've consulted with the N-MC MARS Chief and AF MARS Chief, and though I fully support using abbreviated calls once the initial check-in occurs, N­MC MARS Chief does not. I respect his views—he is an experienced leader. But, I'm still going to explore a solution all three MARS services can live with, before considering making a unilateral change in Army MARS.

My view: Other nations' communicators do not follow the ACPs, because they use their own language (not English) on internal voice nets. So, there's a precedent of sorts for adapting the Allied Communications Publication SOP to our specific local needs. I invite net controls to pass along their thoughts to me on this via the chain of command.

State Webmasters Take Care

The meticulously-edited web page of one of our state commands recently found itself the victim of cyber-sabotage through no fault of its own. A hacker penetrated the servers of the Internet Service Provider and from there to several sites via the File Transfer Protocol. The first our webmaster knew about it was a flood of incoming e-mails complaining of spam—and then a flaming red flag attached to them by Google's malware spotters.

With help from the ISP, the webmaster completed the arduous chore of scrubbing all files. Google, which polices the web for its own protection, currently reports the site clean.

If e-mails start pouring in from senders you don't know, complaining about unwanted spam from your address, chances are your system is infected, or else another infected system has kidnapped your address.

Anyone concerned with cyber-security can visit www.stopbadware.org for information on safety precautions.

A Special Day—ZULU Time

Before going on I'll remind that this net operates on ZULU time. So at this moment, today is Saturday, 14 February. And so, to all the women who are MARS members, who are spouses of members, or guests, I wish you Happy St. Valentine's Day!

It's a rare statistical event when the Chief's Net happens to land on St.

Valentine's Day. So how could we pass up such an opportunity for honoring the YL's and XYL's who are members of the Army MARS family?

A few days ago I asked leaders in the field to tell me about the outstanding women serving in their commands. I'm delighted with the response. I just wish there was time to share it all on the air.

First I salute the state of New York. Region 2 director Bill Fitzsimmons submitted the names of three recent state directors who have guided New York's 60-some-odd members. Elizabeth Stratton AAR2ZEN and Clare Heil, AAR2OL are no longer active due to health reasons. Carli Drake AAR2IH now continues her leadership role as Participation Officer.

Carli was a young Girl Scout when she encountered Morse Code. She became a ham in 1976. In 1991 she joined MARS so she could help with MARSgrams for the troops in Operation Desert Storm—as many, she recalls, as 100 to 200 a day.

Another XYL former state director, Oregon's Oletta Speers, formerly AAAOOR for four years, now AAROJY, is nominated by Barry Landson AAA9P. Oletta has been a leader in digital instruction and currently conducts a digital training net in region.

Two successive state directors from Tennessee are proud to cite Sue Cower AAM4TTN, the state training officer. "She has certainly done more than any male member toward getting our new members up to speed," according to Paul Drothler, AAAV4 DJ, formerly AAA4TN. "I can tell you Sue has gained the respect of our members and staff throughout the entire region." The talent runs in the family; her husband Ron AAR4CH is a former assistant state director. The two acquired their interest in emcomm at a Skywarn meeting. Ron preceded Sue as training officer and .between them the couple count some 40 current MARS operators as their successful students.Sue Cower asks that I express gratitude to all the spouses of members. As she put it, "They allow their husbands to spend the dollars and the time and energy on emcomm and specifically on MARS."

Well, Sue, let's salute Shirley Halliday AUX7AC, the strong right arm to Region 7 director John Halliday AAA7RD. Her husband reports, "She keeps up with all that goes on with region 7 and put in over 500 hours last year on and off the air. I would have a hard time keeping up without her assistance."

In Missouri, Barbara Schaper AUX7AD, who has long been wheelchair­bound and is recently recovering from surgery, has continued actively assisting her spouse, state administrative officer Henry Schaper AAM7AMO. I thank assistant state director Tom Rankin AAM1 M0 for recognizing Barbara's more than seven years of hard work for MARS. In Idaho, another state ad min officer, Evelyn Courtney AAMOAID, wins praise from state director Royce Adair AAAOID for continuing to keep all the reports in order despite having to travel to Texas caring for her ill mother.

There is never enough caring to go around, but the contribution of Carolyn Cavanagh AAR3AGA, the Virginia ad min officer, has a life of its own. A former Chief's Special Staff member as AAA9HH, the Helping Hands coordinator, Carolyn developed a method of using text-to-speech software to produce audio tapes of MARS documentation for members with diminished vision.

Ray Machell,AAA1 NN, the Northern New England director, had no option but to mention his wife. Betty Machell AAR1 HL. During 2008, Betty logged 892 hours of MARS activity, attending 528 nets and serving as net control 208 times and as trainer almost that often. That's in one year. She also serves as stamps officer.

Due to a job transfer, New England is losing a member who brought special luster to Army MARS. We expect to hear from her soon in region 4. Ann Santos, formerly AAR1GY, is an electronics engineer with the Transportation Security Administration. She's known in the ham community as a DXer with 344 confirmed countries. Ann, a scuba diver too, was the first YL DXpeditioner to operate from Kure Atoll, Kingman Reef, and, last year, Clipperton Atoll, as well as participating in some 20 other rare activations in her 30 widely-traveled years as a CW expeditioner.

I wish there was time to follow the example of Dave Martin, the Texas State Director, who simply messaged: "I submit all of the YL's in Texas." Of course I can only mention a fraction on this net, but I celebrate all of you tonight. I do hope to receive more stories of pace-setting women members on future nets.