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Upcoming Training
Unless otherwise indicated, meetings will be held at the Bradley County Emergency Operations Center, 1555 Guthrie Drive, Cleveland, TN 37311.
Meetings and dates in Red have not been 100% Confirmed
June 18th at 1900 hrs.
Web EOC Class
July 16th 2009
No Meeting
August 20th at 1900 hrs.
Robert Goff of the Tennessee Department of Health
Emergency Response Coordinator
September 17th at 1900 hrs.
Ocoee Chapter of the Red Cross
October 15th at 1900 hrs.
Southern Baptist Association’s Disaster Team
South Bears Communications Team
November 19th at 1900 hrs.
Salvation Army’s Disaster Team/SATERN TEAM
Southern Territory
December 17th 2009
No Meeting
January 21th 2010 at 1900 hrs.
District Three Homeland Security DART Team
February 18th 2010 at 1900 hrs.
Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS)
March 18th 2010 at 1800 hrs.
NWS Skywarn Weather Spotters Class
April 15th 2010 at 1900 hrs.
Tennessee Emergency Communications Association, Inc
Paul Drothler Ex. Director
May 20th or 27th 2010 at 1900 hrs.
Radiation monitoring Equipment Training
June 17th 2010 at 1900 hrs.
ACS Hazmat Safety Training
July 16th 2010
No Meeting
A Brief History of the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS)
Since
the early pioneers of amateur radio first used their wireless sets to
communicate during disasters, those who followed in their footsteps
have provided thousands of hours of public service time in communities
around the world when normal communication networks are brought down.
They
quickly developed a reputation of using emergency power generators and
wire antennas to establish contact with other agencies involved in
disaster recovery operations. As interest grew and more operators were
going on the air with their Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
licenses, there was a need to organize the volunteer operators.
So
in 1952 the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) was formed to
serve government agencies in times of extraordinary needs. During
periods of RACES activation, certified unpaid personnel were called
upon to perform many tasks for the government agencies in which they
serve. Although the exact nature of each activation will be different,
the common thread was communications. The FCC regulates RACES but it is
administrated by local, county, or state civil defense agencies.
In
addition to RACES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES), which
is administered by the American Radio Relay League, provides disaster
communications for non-government agencies such as the American Red
Cross.
Some local volunteers had affiliated with RACES while
others maintained affiliation with ARES. Some had membership in both.
Bradley County operators also serve as spotters during severe weather,
which is under a third program, SkyWarn. SkyWarn volunteers serve the
National Weather Service. They in essence were wearing three hats.
In
2005 efforts began to form a single agency that would combine RACES,
ARES, and SkyWarn under the Cleveland -Bradley County Emergency
Management Agency and to begin an organized program of
Training. Every
licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local
or national organization,is eligible for membership in ACS. The primary
qualification is a sincere desire to serve. ACS needs volunteers that
can work on generators, put up antennas, computer operators and many
other service type jobs. We need the manpower to be ready in case of an
emergency. Randall Walsh KC4KVE served as the first ACS Director from
2005 - 2008. Keith Chancey W4KCO is the current director.
ACS Today
ACS is still growing and evolving into what it will be in the future. In January 2008 the Bradley County Auxiliary Communications Service became the pattern for all counties in District Three Homeland Security in Tennessee.
Qualifications to become an ACS member
To
participate in ACS, you must have a sincere desire to serve your
community in times of disaster and be able to donate time for your
training each month. You must be fifteen years old, but cannot be
deployable until you are 21 years old. You must have completed the FEMA Independent Study Classes NIMS IS 100, 200, 700 and 800. Also
the ARRL Emcomm 1 course or "its equivalent" to be a member of the ACS
Response Team. Members that have not completed their training are part
of the ACS Reserve Unit.
ACS
meets on the third Thursday of every month at the Bradley County
Emergency Operations Center, located at 1555 Guthrie Drive, Cleveland,
and the meetings begin promptly at 7 PM EST.
ACS Monthly Training
Training
is a major part of the ACS meetings. We focus on classes for both the
individual member and as a unit. Many of these classes are taught by
the ACS members themselves, others classes are taught by Emergency Management Personal.
ACS Leadership
Director ACS Keith Chancey, W4KCO bradleyares@gmail.com
Executive Deputy Director Tony Melton, KD4MRS
Deputy Director Jack McCarty, WA5CHJ
Deputy Director David Benton, WB4JGG
Net Manager Bob Gault, KD4NEC
HF Officer/Traffic Manager Ron Akers, W8BF
Staging Manager Jean Clayton, KE4OEQ
Digital/Mars Operations Mike Bishop, WM4RB
Law Enforcement Liaison Steve Weber, KA4ELN
Equipment Team Manager
ARES Reserve
Bradley County Clubs
Cleveland Amateur Radio Club: This club is not affiliated with ACS, but actively supports the ACS program through its member participation.
Regularly
scheduled Cleveland Amateur Radio Club meetings are held twice monthly,
on the second Tuesday and fourth Tuesday, at the our club house located
at 560 Johnson Boulevard, SE, 7pm local time unless
cancelled. The Cleveland Amateur Radio Club has two Volunteer
Examination team's offering testing for all Amateur classes of license
and Emcomm Level's 1, 2, 3. The testing is on the third Saturday of
each month at 10AM. Walk ins welcome.
No December Testing.
Glen Clayton (W4BDB), President CARC
Contact us at our Clubhouse
560 Johnson Boulevard, SE
Cleveland, TN 37311
Phone 423-479-4660
Mailing Address
Cleveland Amateur Radio Club
P.O. Box 2683
Cleveland, TN 37320-2683
Ocoee Amateur Radio Society:
This group is not formally affiliated with ACS, however it's membership
supports ACS by membership and by member participation in ACS
sponsored activities, to the point one of the OARS by-laws stating that
each OARS member must contribute at least one (1) day per year to
public service events through Amateur Radio Communications in order to
retain membership in the Ocoee Amateur Radio Society.
Regularly
scheduled Ocoee Amateur Radio Society meetings take place monthly at
the Bradley County Fire and Rescue Center on the first Monday of each
month at 7pm local time unless otherwise announced. The Ocoee Amateur
Radio Society is in the process of sponsoring a Volunteer Examination
team at which time a testing schedule will soon be added.
John Alcock (KE4TQM)
Club President OARS
Contact us at our Clubhouse
Ocoee Amateur Radio Society
C/O Bradley County Fire and Rescue
260 East Inman St
Cleveland, TN 37311
Phone 423-479-2700
Mailing Address
Ocoee Amateur Radio Society
P.O. Box 502
McDonald, TN 37353
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