Training Session #4

Well, There’s only this session plus one more for you to listen to me going on about a lot of rules, regulations, and exceptions. I hope everyone has been looking through the Region 4 Training Guide. The information in it should reinforce the things I have been talking about for the last 3 weeks. By applying and using all this information correctly whenever you are on a MARS frequency, you will be operating in accordance to the way the Air Force wants affiliate MARS members to operate on their military frequencies. You may from time to time hear personal opinions on how this or that would sound better and be more meaningful to the Amateur Radio fraternity. Just remember we are not operating as Amateur's or on Amateur frequencies. When we come up on MARS frequencies, we are expected to operate as professional military communicators and not as hobbyists.

And now we’ll have a brief review of the previous week’s material. Each of us submitted an application to join AF MARS, and we where issued a unique call sign for our station and this is our sole identification whenever we are on any MARS frequency. Our complete call sign must be used each time we transmit

We also learned that all the frequencies are a specific spot frequency, not a band of frequencies and a very tight tolerance is maintained. Net members must maintain a center frequency of plus or minus 50hz. NCS' must maintain a center frequency of plus or minus 20hz. We know that there are region FYMON and BEACON stations, whom are charged with the additional responsibility of monitoring and assisting the NCS in maintaining net frequencies within these tolerances. We should always tune to the NCS' frequency and allow them to bring us back on frequency, if they feel we are off frequency.

We have learned that there is a list of prowords that are used throughout all branches of the military services and that we should always use them correctly. Two of them, OVER and OUT, will be used at the end of every transmission, but never Over and Out. We do not end with STANDBY or HOW COPY which are not authorized prowords.

We know that most of our traffic on military frequencies is monitored and often times by countries or individuals who are not friendly with our country or national security. For this reason we have frequency designators assigned to MARS frequencies and we use the designators instead of the actual dial frequency over the air.

We also learned that whenever we check into a net, we are expected to remain on that net and be available for traffic until we notify the NCS that we wish to close (and permission has been granted) or until the net closes. If we miss a roll call or are not available when called for traffic, the NCS may close us at that time and our participation could stop.

Although we hear Q and Z signals used widely on voice Amateur bands, we will not use them on MARS voice nets except, they may be used during very noisy conditions and then they must be spelled out phonically.

We learned about Zulu time and how to convert it from local time and that all military communications uses it.

We also learned that the ICAO alphabet is used whenever we phonetically spell a word, name, or any other confusing words. This is the only phonetic alphabet approved for use in all communication services worldwide.

We found out that our MARS privileges expire with our Amateur license and that it is our responsibility to keep it valid. We must also notify our SMD when we renew it. Also any other changes pertaining to your MARS operation. Such as Address, Email etc.

We learned that as flexible and useful as the MARS system is, there are specific types of traffic that we will not handle or introduce into the system. One being an initial death notice unless authorized by RMD/SMD.

We also learned that during message transmitting, relaying, or routing, we always phonetically spell names in the TO and FROM lines and any names or confusing words appearing in the text. Also the only time and place the proword BREAK is used is at the beginning and end of the message text.

We learned that we never just transmit our call sign on a net in hopes that someone will hear and replay. All our transmissions must be directed to another station, usually the NCS or the 4 Sierra One net, especially when checking into the net.

And finally, last week we learned that in military message traffic, all information to be transmitted or received has a specified place and is in a specified format on the message form. If done properly, a great deal of confusion and delays are eliminated.

Now I am going to continue talking about the plaindress and abbreviated plaindress messages and add another type into the system, called a SERVICE message. You should have in front of you the message form you filled out last week so you can refer to it as I go over the important points you should know how to originate, transmit, relay, and receive traffic.

If you are not the originating station of a message, on the bottom of the message form, you should record the callsign of the station you received the message from and the date & time (UTC) that you received the message. In other words, when & how you got the message.

Also at the bottom of the message form, you should record, the date and time, and if appropriate, the callsign, that you relayed, delivered, serviced or re-filed the message. In other words, what you did with it.

Including all this information on a single form or sheet of paper minimizes your bookkeeping chores. Slipped into a file folder, you have a complete record of your activities regarding a piece of traffic in the event of an inquiry. As an example,' a message that you relayed to another station was never received at it's destination. The station that you received it from says he delivered it to you and has the proper documentation to prove it. Do you have the proper documentation such as time of receipt and that station's call sign? Do you have the message in question's date-time-group because this is the message identification and does not change as the message travels throughout the system? Do you have the call sign of the station that you relayed it to and your message number, and the date and time that you sent it? All this is very important information and could become legal evidence.

The same information is equally important when using the "abbreviated plaindress" message which is used for traffic from one MARS station to another MARS station. All information is the same except the addresses in the "To" and "From" lines may be excluded.

Now that you are all experts on military communication and message forms, it's time to learn a new one. The next type of message I will talk about is called the "SERVICE" message. These messages are used between MARS stations for bookkeeping purposes. Let's say I cannot deliver a message you sent me because the address was no good. I would send you a service message advising you of this fact and ask you to cancel the message so I can close it out in my file. Service messages are used almost exclusively for this purpose within MARS, but in the active military, they are used for circuit changes and many other matters, which have to do with a network of stations.

The information required on a "SERVICE" message is the identical to the "Abbreviated Plaindress" message, except for the group count. Instead of doing a group count and entering a number, the word "SERVICE" would be used instead. However, it is strongly recommended that the group count be used and entered, and then, the first word of the text would be the word "SERVICE". Remember, we use group count to ensure accuracy and accuracy is no less important on a service message than any other.

Now for the text. The service message is used to convey information between two stations in the MARS service. So it is important that you provide sufficient information, so the receiving station knows what you are talking about. Suppose a message that you received for delivery is undeliverable at the phone number given. The text of your SERVICE message back to the originating station would read as follows:

GROUPS SERVICE

Break

REFERENCE YOUR 151412Z JAN 03 UNDELIVERABLE TO PHONE NUMBER

405-741-0770 NO OTHER PHONE NUMBER LISTED REQUEST TO QTA AND FILE

First, we identified, the message.

Second, we identified the problem.

Third, we gave the phone number as we had it, because it is possible that this is not the phone number on the original message. A number could have been transposed or miss-read somewhere along the line.

Fourth, we used the only "Q" signal authorized with voice communications, QTA, which means to cancel the message and file it.

This gave the originating station enough information to find and either cancel the message or return a service message with the corrected phone number. By the way, the group count on the last message would have been 18.

Suppose you called a phone number to deliver a message and found that the phone number had been changed and you delivered the message to the new number. It would be a courtesy to send a service message back to the originator with this information. Both numbers (new and old) should be included. There is no limit on groups in a service message. So pass all the information that you would like to receive in a service message, to correct your files. So, as you can probably see, the big difference between the abbreviated plaindress message and the service message is the word service used in place of group count or as stated before, group count is recommended, with the word SERVICE used as the first word of the text.

Last week while I was going over the plaindress message, the sample message which you handled contained an ARL canned text message. We know how to receive these messages using the message form and how to relay them. Now, once we receive one for delivery, how do we deliver it. If you told the message recipient "ARL FIFTY" they would probably think you were some kind of a nut. So before you can deliver this type of message, you must convert it to plain language. In the training manual you will find a list that shows these, ARL FIFTY translates to "GREETINGS BY AMATEUR RADIO" and this is what you would say to the addressee. Some ARL message texts have blanks that must be filled in by the originator. For example, ARL SIXTY FOUR followed by a blank line means "Arrived Safely At_________". The originator would then fill in the blank with a word such as HOME. (ARRIVED SAFELY AT HOME) is the message you would deliver. You would also need this information to originate an ARL canned message.

We could receive traffic from a replacement depot in Frankfurt, Germany. For example the message contains two ARL texts. ARL SIXTY FOUR and ARL SIX. This is how the text would read in a received message:

ARL SIXTY FOUR 21ST REPLACEMENT BATTALION FRANKFURT GERMANY ARL SIX
SIGNED JOE

This message would be delivered as follows:

HAVE ARRIVED SAFELY AT 21ST REPLACEMENT BATTALION FRANKFURT GERMANY WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SIGNED JOE.

The group count of the incoming message including the SIGNATURE is 12. The group count on the delivered message is 18. Therefore, canned text messages do save transmission time. The only drawback is that the addressee may want to send a replay and can not, because there is no return address in the "FROM" line. The location is a temporary stop en route to a permanent location and they will contact the addressee with a complete address when they arrive. Remember, we must have a complete address on the "TO" line, including APO if it is going overseas. It can't be just sent to a MARS station overseas.

A number of overseas locations offer what is called "Drop Box" service, which is sort of like a post office box where personal can drop in messages. MARS station personal then pick up and transmit the message. This type of message can create some problems because originators fail to fill in all of the required information such as phone numbers, etc. Someone on the spur of the moment decides to say hello to Aunt Annie. They fill out a form but don't have the telephone number because they left it back at their quarters, so they just ignore it. The MARS operator must put the message into the system and hope the MARS operator in or near Aunt Annie's town can find the telephone number in the directory.

Let me give you a few hints about transmitting or receiving these messages. Again for accuracy, do not add or subtract information in the message to include adding the full words for abbreviations. I'll give you some examples. Messages arriving from Korea use the initials ROK after the originating station. So, don't change them to REPUBLIC OF KOREA even though that is what they mean. If you received it with ROK, you should send it on with ROK. The same holds true for address information. If the street or avenue is sent abbreviated as initials ST or AVE leave them this way. As I stated before do not change anything in a message, except the message number, which is your log number.

Another thing to stay away from is the making of assumptions. You will occasionally hear in reference to a message, "I assume he meant ........ "The way the message was stated when you received it",is the way it should be passed on or delivered even though it doesn't make sense. DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING IN A MESSAGE.

We may be handling messages in a simulated emergency situation that will require the message to be sent in a secure mode. The message text will consist of 5 letter groups of letters, numbers, or mixed letters and numbers. When you receive this type of message, accuracy is very important as the changing of one letter or number would change the meaning of the entire text. There is absolutely no way for you or any MARS affiliate member to know what the message means, as we do not have the deciphering equipment. We are only to relay or delivery it. In a real situation, the first word of the text would be OFFICIAL and the second word would be CLASSIFIED. In our simulations, we use the word DRILL as the first word so no one will get excited or alarmed thinking this is the real thing.

The last thing I want to talk about in this session is logs. Logs are required by the Air Force. They are required for individual stations to show all activities of that station while operating on MARS frequencies. AF Form 1020, AF Form 35, or any equivalent Amateur log may be used as long as it contains the required information. The operating log and messages are legal documents, which could be used in a court of law, if the need should arise. So be careful that everything you include in the log is accurate and true. The AF log forms should be available through your SMD. Don't hesitate to request any needed supplies from your SMD. He is charged with keeping a stock of supplies that you will need to operate your station. Also remember to keep a few envelopes on hand for mailing messages that you can't deliver any other way.

With that I will close this session of the training net. But before I do are there any questions or comments.

Next week will be the final lecture type session. I will touch on everything we have covered so far and lay the ground work for the final session. For the final session, you will be required to originate and send me a formal, plaindress message. I will give you the message text content next week. We are almost there, so, keep up the good work and continue to study, I'll see you all next week.