Monroe County Simulated Emergency Test-Saturday Oct.12,2024

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" For More Information Contact: Lance Charter [email protected] cell 734-597-0004 News Release - Monroe, Michigan.–October 5th --Monroe County Amateur Radio Public Service Corps LOCAL HAM RADIO OPERATORS SHARE THEIR PASSION FOR PUBLIC SERVICE DURING THE ANNUAL SIMULATED EMERGENCY TEST Monroe County Michigan, October 12th— On-air emergency preparedness activities during a Direct Denial of Service Cyber Attack will be on tap for members of the Monroe County Amateur Radio Public Service Corps as they conduct their annual Simulated Emergency Test drill on Saturday October 12th at various locations around Monroe County in conjunction with the Michigan Statewide SET. “The primary goal of the Simulated Emergency Test is to test communications facilities between Amateur Radio Operators, County Emergency Operations Centers and counterparts across the State and Nationwide. The drill is an opportunity designed to test operators’ abilities and skills in passing messages between served agencies and the local communities when everyday means of communications such as Internet and Cellular service are degraded, overloaded or non existent, which will be the backbone of our drill on the 12th.”--Monroe County Emergency Coordinator Lance Charter states. “While people often think that cell phones or other communications technologies have replaced ham radio, we can provide an important communications service that others can’t. Ham radio still works when cell, internet and public safety communications don’t. Amateur Radio is not dependant on a “backbone” type system or even commercial infrastructure such as commercial power; an operator with the proper radio, antenna and emergency power can communicate across town or around the earth in short order when no one else is able. ” The Monroe County team has placed 1st in the Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky region for 5 years straight and in 2023 placed 4th overall in United States during the yearly drill. “Monroe County has approximately 20 members of the ARPSC team so it is one of the smaller teams nationwide, but our rankings prove that the determination and work of our members is still top notch.” Mr. Charter states. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES): ARES is a program of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, offering to the public and to its partners trained, federally licensed operators who are skilled in applying a wide range of effective emergency/disaster communications techniques and who are committed to supporting our partners’ missions in service to the public. ARES volunteers provide communications for: • Government agencies • Disaster relief organizations • Public service events • Emergencies or disasters • Training exercises Today there are more than 700,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. To find out more about Amateur Radio or how you can get started, contact Monroe County ARPSC at [email protected]. Information is also available at www.arrl.org/newham. Locally you can go to: https://MCARPSC.org ###

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