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ARRL Bulletin 10 ARLB010
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT March 24, 2005
To all radio amateurs

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ARLB010 Huge mass casualty exercise will put Amateur Radio under scrutiny

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members in Connecticut and elsewhere in the Northeast are poised to take part in what's being characterized as the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise ever conducted in the US. Sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security as a realistic test of the nation's homeland security system, the exercise--TOPOFF 3--will run Monday through Friday, April 4-8. Approximately 100 ARES volunteers primarily will support the American Red Cross. While governmental agencies will comprise the majority of those taking part in TOPOFF 3, Amateur Radio's cooperation with, and assistance, to the American Red Cross will be under scrutiny.

''We've been assigned evaluators and judges who will be watching what we do and how we do it to determine our suitability for such things in the future,'' explained Connecticut Section Emergency Coordinator Chuck Rexroad, AB1CR. ''So we do hope that this will show that we are very relevant in responding to a disaster situation.''

The TOPOFF 3 scenario will depict a complex terrorist campaign beginning in Connecticut and New Jersey and leading to national and international response that will include Canada and the United Kingdom.

The only nongovernmental organization with a formal role in the recently released National Disaster Plan, the Red Cross has main responsibility for mass care. Rexroad anticipates that ARES will be providing its traditional ''backbone'' communication support among Red Cross mobile feeding stations, the organization's temporary stationary facilities and other Red Cross units. ARES also will be ready to provide back-up communication support the Connecticut Office of Emergency Management, he said.

Rexroad and Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane, K1EIC, have been gearing up for TOPOFF 3 for more than a year. Both hope the ARES role in the drill will provide graduates of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications courses a chance to put into practice what they've learned--on a national stage.

With the drill just days away, Rexroad said he still needs volunteers from the region who will comfortable with a high-security environment, realistic-looking ''injuries'' and military aircraft flying overhead. Due to security requirements, all volunteers must register with ARES in advance. Information on the exercise and how to volunteer is on the Connecticut ARES Web site.

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