Lincoln County NM RACES / ARES Standard Operating Procedure

Activation, When the RACES program is first alerted to activation, the following procedures will be followed:

1. The RACES County Radio Officer (RO) will notify the local RACES membership and ARES EC of the situation and the following process will happen:

2. The assigned RACES members will report to the EOC for net control duties, they will bring any needed equipment with them. See attached Check Lists.

a. Lincoln County EOC at Carrizozo

b. Ruidoso EOC at Ruidoso (primary or backup)

c. Ruidoso Downs EOC at Ruidoso Downs

3. The assigned RACES members will report as follows:

a. Radio Station

b. TV Cable

c. Hospital

d. Shelters

e. as needed and directed

4. VHF/UHF Repeater networks will provide the networking between the EOCs in the county and the other communication points needed. There are three 2 meter repeaters and one UHF repeater that may be utilized for radio networks. There may be a need to establish two or more networks on different repeaters. If the Mea Link or Upper Rio repeaters are used, the control operator may configure them for Emergency use.

5. VHF/UHF simplex (short range) radio networks may be established as needed if traffic is heavy.

6. VHF/UHF Repeater failure procedure:

a. If the EOC does not have an HF antenna, then a radio network will be established between each EOC and a local Amateur HF station on VHF/UHF simplex channels. These HF gateway stations will provide communications between the EOCs and also will provide communications outside the area. They may be utilized to send messages to the State EOC as needed.

b. These HF stations will provide communications between the EOCs and other RACES networks on 3939 kHz or 7245 kHz.

c. Additional VHF/UHF simplex local coverage networks will be established as needed. These networks will coordinate their network with the county wide HF network.

7. Frequency Utilization:

a. This plan will utilize the frequencies designated in the FCC rules and regulations. Any authorized band or frequency may be used if enough stations are available to support such use.

b. For short range networks 2 meter and UHF simplex channels will be used first.

c. Local 2 meter and UHF repeaters will be used if they are still in service.

d. HF radio networks will be established if required.

e. Planed frequencies are noted in the Appendix A, but these may be changed as circumstance dictates.

8. Suspense procedures:

a. When the mission is suspended, the Net Control Station will announce that the network is being shut down as soon as each station is accounted for and closed out.

b. This may mean that only a single network may be suspended, and those stations on the network may be re-assigned to another network, or purpose.

c. In the case of a complete shut down, the RACES RO or in the case of a ARES network, the EC will send a formal message to all participating stations noting that the event has been completed and recording the list of stations currently active. The network will be maintained until each station is closed out of the mission. The net control station will insure that each member has returned to its home base before closing down.

9. Debriefing, as soon as possibly after the event is closed down, a debriefing will be done to insure that any problems are corrected and incorporated into future plans. At the debriefing the RO and EC will provide their reports statistics of the operations.

This plan may be modified and updated as required. 19 April, 1999

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Lincoln County NM RACES / ARES Preparation and Equipment Check List

During a disaster / emergency event within Lincoln County New Mexico, RACES / ARES members should be prepared to support Lincoln County, and each governmental subdivision within the county.

During the first six to twelve hours of a major event, outside support may not be available, and all RACES / ARES members will need to be capable self sufficiency during that time. The following is a recommended list for preparation of such an event.

If such an event occurs in adjacent counties, RACES / ARES should be ready to provide any needed support to those areas if needed.

This list is based upon a long term event requiring self sustained operation for a period of days, or for mobile support to a adjacent area. Do not consider supporting an adjacent area without an official invitation, and self sufficiency for at least 3 to 7 days.

In your official invitation, you may be told that you will be provided with most of your needs, but be prepared to be self sufficient, as things can change in the area of the event.

Training will be held in message handling procedures, net control procedures and emergency radio installation requirements.

Use the check lists to inventory your equipment and prepare yourself for the unknown. Planning, training , and preparation are the only way to meet such events.

During a disaster or emergency event, or even during training, you will be working with other people, and stress will be high, if tempers flare, just keep your cool, and when it is all over with you should get an apology, if the other individual remembers what happened. You will find yourself under stress, but try to keep calm, no matter what happens.

Most messages will be informal and will be sent as rapidly as possible, use a note pad, to make sure you have any details correct. Any formal messages will be written and must be sent as written, the originator is the only one that can change the message. Keep your messages short, but concise, and when you send a message, make sure the receiving station has everything correct. If you are relaying messages from people that understand radio, they will compose them so that they can be sent easily, but if you are working with someone who does not use radio, you may need to assist them in making the message short enough.

Use the phonic alphabet to spell out any non standard words or names. On of the best ways to learn to handle such traffic is to join a listen or join a HF traffic net, these meet every day and are great ways to learn to handle radio traffic.

When you participate in a formal network, you will have a Net Control station who controls the flow of traffic. One of the first rules is not to transmit unless the net control allows you to. Also do not send unnecessary messages. Most net controls will establish a condition level indicating the level of messages that the net may utilize. An example is:

Condition RED Emergency Messages only

Condition Yellow Emergency Messages, and Priority Messages Only

Condition Green Emergency Messages, Priority Messages, and Operational Messages

No Condition Emergency, Priority, Operational, and informal QSOs

If possible a secondary back up Operational network can be used to conduct non emergency, priority messages. This is very easy to do with dual band radios.

Except in the case of a major disaster event, most communications will began to return to near normal, and emergency, priority messages will drop to a point that most of the RACES members can stand down, these same members can be utilized to handle ARES health and welfare messages if needed.

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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:

RACES, SKYWARN, ARES, identification, state Drivers License. ______

Radio Gear:

For each radio set, a microphone and head phones ______

Hand Held radio(s) 2 meter and 70 cm. ______

Charged Batteries for Hand held radio(s). ______

Charger for Hand Held radio batteries. ______

Alkaline Battery Pack for Hand Held radio(s). Alkaline Battery Pack(s) see note 1 ______

Spare Alkaline Batteries. ______

Gain Antenna for Hand Held Radio(s) with coaxial cable. ______

Mobile Unit with installed radios: ______

2 meter and 70 cm mobile unit with gain antenna. ______

VHF/UHF Magnet mount Antenna ______

50 Feet RG-8 Coax with UHF Connectors and UHF Barrel ______

HF radio (optional) either installed or safely packed. ______

AC power supply, 7 Amps VHF UHF or 20 Amps. HF minimum. ______

AC Power Extension Cord 50 to 100 feet long ______

AC Power block with six outlets ______

HF antenna (optional) installed on vehicle. ______

HF portable (optional) antenna with coaxial cable and barrel ______

Extra coaxial cables, UHF and BNC adapters. ______

SWR meter(s) to measure UHF, VHF and HF. ______

Spare Fuses.

Writing Gear:

Ball Point Pens (3) ______

Pencils (3) ______

Erasers (3) ______

Clipboard ______

Message Forms (25) ______

Log Book Pages (25) ______

Note paper (1 Pad) ______

Small Note Pad ______

Flashlight and batteries ______

Personal Gear:

Peanut Butter Snacks (10 Packs) ______

Canteen 2 Qt. (with fresh water) ______

Candy bars (5) ______

Throat Lozenges (1 Box) ______

Aspirin (100 Tablets) ______

Extra Prescription Glasses and Sun Glasses ______

Rain Gear ______

Drinking Water (5 Gal.) ______

MRE meals (10) ______

Mess Kit ______

Camp cookware ______

Dish Soap ______

Candles (5) ______

Waterproof Matches (1 Box) ______

Sleeping Bag with Pad ______

Camping Lantern with mantels ______

Solar Blanket ______

Back Pack ______

Toilet Articles ______

Alarm Clock ______

Money cash and credit card ______

Ice cooler ______

First Aid Kit See Appendix A. ______

Tool Box See Appendix B. ______

Other Tools See Appendix C. ______

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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:

Appendix A.

FIRST AID KIT

eBand Aids (100) ______

dBand Aids (100) ______

2x2 Compresses (25) ______

3x3 Compresses (25) ______

4x4 Compresses (25) ______

2Roller Gauze (2) ______

4Roller Gauze (2) ______

2Cling Gauze (3) ______

Triangular Bandage (1) ______

Arm Sling (1) ______

dAdhesive Tape (2) ______

2Elastic Bandage (2) ______

4Elastic Bandage (2) ______

Elastic Ankle Wrap (1) ______

Scissors ______

Antihistamine (5) ______

Water Purification Tablets ______

Antacid Tablets ______

Insect Repellent ______

Thin Rubber Gloves (6 Pr) ______

Cold Pack ______

Sewing Kit ______

Solar Blanket ______

Waterproof Matches (1 Box) ______

Small Flashlight (1) ______

First Aid Guide ______

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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:

Appendix B.

TOOL BOX

Slot Point Screw Driver Large ______

Slot Point Screw Driver Small ______

Phillips Head Screw Driver Large ______

Phillips Head Screw Driver Small ______

Pliers ______

Socket Wrench Set, Allen wrenches ______

Electrical Tape ______

Soldering Iron ______

Solder, Resin Core ______

Dikes (cutters) ______

Needle Nose Pliers ______

Fuses and other spare parts. ______

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EMERGENCY / DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS CHECK LIST:

Appendix C.

Other Tools

Hatchet / Ax ______

Hand Cross-Cut Saw ______

Combination Camp / Pick / Shovel ______

Siphon ______

Jumper Cables ______

3/8Hemp Rope (100 feet) ______

Highway Flares ______

Oil Automotive Engine ______

Compass ______

Map(s) ______

Optional Equipment:

Portable generator set. ______

GPS Navigation Set ______

Scanning Receiver Set ______

Portable AM / FM / Short-wave Radio Receiving Set ______

Camera with Film ______

Video Camera with tape and Charger and Batteries ______

Tape Recorder Player with batteries and extra tapes ______

ATV System ______

Reading books ______

Cellular Phone with charger and batteries ______

Portable computer with charger and software ______

Packet Radio TNC with cables ______

Air to Ground Radio Set ______

Any other items that will improve the attainment of reaching the mission objective(s).