FIghter Units Visit the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry Area

95th Fighter Squadron

F-15s from Tyndall AFB's 95th Fighter Squadron are at the Savannah CRTC this week. They flew missions today in the offshore special use areas against F-5s from VMFT-401. Some good frequencies to catch the 95th FS aircraft on are:

257.800 Savannah IAP Tower
380.025 Savannah Approach/Departure
387.100 Savannah Approach/Departure
282.200 Jacksonville Center
284.500 SEALORD Primary
237.000 CRTC Ops
293.300 CRTC Discrete
328.500 CRTC Discrete
363.900 CRTC Discrete


VMFT-401

F-5s from the USMC Agressor Squadron VMFT-401 are working out of MCAS Beaufort this week. They have been flying missions against the 95th FS F-15s mentioned above in the offshore special use areas. You can catch VMFT-401 on:

301.200 MCAS Beaufort Approach/Departure
284.500 SEALORD Primary
250.300 VMFT-401 air-to-air
268.300 VMFT-401 air-to-air


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Mothers Day Morning Storm Monitoring

Thankfully, Savannah and Chatham County were spared the worst of the storms and Tornados that moved through southeast Georgia on Mother's Day morning. Compared to the Tornados that struck to the south and northwest of Savannah, I only heard a few dispatches for lightning strike fires and some downed power lines.

As the thunderstorms moved in, I disconnected all of my outside antennas and monitored using portable scanners only. I used the BC396 to monitor CEMA 1 (TG 6224) on the Chatham-Effingham TRS. CEMA 1 was an excellent way to keep apprised of what was going on; the CEMA staff were using it pass reports on what was going on within Chatham County. With one radio locked on CEMA 1, the old BC250 was used to scan Chatham County public safety.

No formal Skywarn Nets were established in the area, but amateur radio operators were on the 146.970 repeater in Savannah and the 146.745 repeater in Springfield passing weather observations and other storm information. As mentioned above, the outside antennas were disconnected, so I used crossband repeat and portables to monitor the repeaters. A Yaesu FT-50 was used to crossband through the Yaesu FT-8800 for the Springfield repeater because it is out of portable range at home. The Yaesu VX-150 was sufficient for getting into the 146.970.

Mac McCormick III
kf4lmt@comcast.net

D/3-160 SOAR Deactivates

Hunter AAF's D Company, 3-160 SOAR deactivated on Thursday. Personnel from the unit are to be split between the new 4-160 SOAR at Ft. Lewis, Washington and C Company, 3-160 SOAR at Hunter AAF. According to the Savannah Morning News, this is part of a reoganization of the 160 SOAR that will see as many as 16 MH-47s at Hunter AAF. That report accounts for the higher number of MH-47Gs heard at Hunter AAF over the number of MH-47s that 3-160 SOAR previously had.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Southside Fire Picks Up Causton Bluff Area, Moves to Pick Up Elba Island LNG Facility

The Causton Bluff, Emerald Pointe, Runaway Point, Blue Heron Bluff, and The Bluff subdivisions will now be covered by Southside Fire Department. According to local news reports, Southside will begin operating from a site on the El Paso Corp. LNG Facility (Elba Island) on 1 May 2008, with construction of a station to take 12-14 months longer. I wonder if this station will be Station 11 (SSFD Station 11 used to be on southside Savannah where Savannah Fire Station 11 is now) or if they will pick up another number?

It was also announced that El Paso Corp. has contracted with Southside to provide fire services to the LNG Facility instead of Savannah Fire, the current provider. This move just does not make sense; although Southside will likely offer service at a lower fee (much as they have with the residential areas above), they do not have a HazMat response capability. If HazMat services are needed (and liquid natural gas certainly qualifies!) then Savannah Fire will have to be called.


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Reflections on the Imperial Sugar Refinery After Action Report

The Chatham Emergency Management Agency has released their After Action Report (AAR) for the Imperial Sugar Refinery Explosion; it can be found in .pdf form at http://www.chathamemergency.org/docs/AAR%20Full%20Size.pdf

The AAR should be read by amateur radio operators interested in emergency communications; there are some important lessons learned to be digested. Radio Monitoring hobbyists interested in public safety communications may want to read it as well, as it covers communications issues that could impact our area's communications plans in the future.


Communications
ESF #2 Statement of Issue 1 addresses the problems of interagency communications. Although many of the responding units utilize the Chatham-Effingham TRS, some responders such as those from South Carolina and some outlying Coastal Georgia counties do not use that system. As a result, direct communications between units and Incident Command were sometimes problematic. Although it is possible to relay communications through a command post with multiple radios, that process can cause hazardous delays that could compromise safety. When operating in a hazardous situation such as the one at the sugar refinery, it is necessary for units to talk directly to each other rather than wait for relays between multiple frequency bands.

This should be less of a problem in the future due to the grant for public safety communications improvements that I recently posted about; plans are in the works to expand the communications network along the coast, allowing for greater interoperability. The explosion highlighted the need for the work to go forward. In regards to the South Carolina responders, the radio system they use is compatible with the radio system used here; common talkgroups (such as fire, law enforcement, and medical common talkgroups) could be programmed into radios. Another solution could be the use of an interoperability system such as a Motobridge. A Motobridge could alleviate these problems as well, but there would be delay in setup. There would be a shorter delay in setting up a permanently sited Motobridge or a longer one in deploying and setting up a temporary Motobridge.

This is of particular interest to the public safety monitoring hobbyist. It could have a direct impact on what we listen to and how we listen to it.


Incident Command System
ESF #5 Statement of Issue 1 addresses knowledge of and use of the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). CEMA recommends that principles of the ICS be adhered to in all incidents. CEMA states that more than 1200 hours of ICS Level 300 and 400 training have been conducted. There are only a few agencies here that use the ICS on a regular basis on practically all of their operations. If agencies aren't practicing the ICS on regular, single agency incidents, how can they be expected to apply ICS principles on a major, multiple agency incidents. Classroom training and a couple of exercises a year cannot result in the same level of fluency that regular use of the ICS system can.

ESF #5 Statement of Issue 2 addresses the Chatham County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The Chatham EOC and the CEMA administrative offices are not co-located. The EOC is at the County Annex and the administrative offices are downtown. CEMA recommends that their offices should be located with the EOC as soon as funds and facilities become available. Funds and Facilities should be made available by the county now, before Hurricane Season is here.

ESF #5 Statement of Issue 3 addresses how units "self dispatched" themselves to the scene and how their was no Incident Command to coordinate. They recommend that an Incident Commander should establish a Unified Command to alleviate the problems caused by the inflow of those units. There is no doubt that a Unified Command is needed, but units should also not "self dispatch" themselves to the scene. The street has to work both ways; the Unified Command must be established but the units must wait until requested and work with the Unified Command.

ICS Problems had a follow on effect onto other aspects of the response. Resources (ESF #7) were impacted by the ICS Problems; the lack of a Unified Command resulted in some needed resources being turned away from the scene. Ingress/Egress and Staging (under ESF #13) were impacted by the same issues; lack of communication between Fire and Law Enforcement combined with self dispatched units restricted the single ingress/egress corridor and hampered asset staging. This is why the amateur radio community needs to be familiar with the ICS and that amateur radio operators wanting to participate in emergency communications need to take the NIMS courses. The amateur radio community cannot be a weak link in the chain; in order to fit into the response, amateur radio operators need a working knowledge of ICS so that they know why things are going on around them and how they fit into the overall plan.

The AAR also addresses time limits on Incident Command and General Staff shifts. They correctly state that fatigue from extended shifts "impairs ones judgement and can expose emergency personnel to excessive danger." This must also apply to amateur radio operators taking part in emergency communications. From personnel experience during Hurricane Floyd, I know that long hours can reduce ones effectiveness. Rotating operators and making sure operators get rest will eliminate mistakes. Mistakes can not only embarrass the amateur radio community and damage it's reputation, they can put others in dangerous and harmful situations.


External Affairs
ESF #15, Statement of Issue 1 addresses the release of information regarding the incident. There were problems with incorrect information being released and information be released prematurely. The Pubic Information Officer and his/her delegates should be the only ones releasing information, no one else (not even elected officials!)

This relates to both the amateur radio operator and the public safety monitoring hobbyist. Amateur Radio Operators should be careful of what they say over the air and what they say off the air in regards to what could be considered sensitive information regarding an incident. Be careful of what you say, the information may not be intended for public consumption at the time. Likewise, the monitoring hobbyist should be careful what they say about what they are hearing and when they say it. Radio traffic may sometimes be inaccurate and incomplete; keep this in mind before talking about what you hear and making judgements on what you hear.


Air Operations
CEMA recommends the activation of the Air Support Operations Center (ASOC) during future incidents such as this. The ASOC is a mobile command and control center operated by members of the Chatham County Aviation Division. The public safety monitoring hobbyist should plan to search and scan aviation frequencies during future exercises and incidents. CEMA has also come to agreements with local helicopter owners and operators to fill in when the local, state, federal, and military aviation assets are unavailable.


I would like to stress that the above opinions are purely my own. The do not reflect the opinions of amateur radio clubs, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, or anyone else.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

Oglethorpe Speedway; April 25, 2008

Last night, my schedule allowed one of my rare trips out to Oglethorpe Speedway. I always enjoy getting out to the short track and last night was no exception. There was some good racing and plenty to listen out for on the radio.

The Track Operations/Race Officials channel is unchanged from last year. The "Race Receiver" used for the Officials to talk to the Drivers during the races is now on 454.0000 MHz.

461.5000 - Track Operations/Race Officials (DCS 026)
454.0000 - Race Receiver (Officials to Drivers)

There were plenty of radios in use by the teams, mostly in the Street Stock and Late Model fields, although there were some in use in all of the levels racing. I really didn't try to match car numbers with frequencies last night, but one channel stood out in particular: 463.6875 MHz. The female spotter on this channel, apparently the driver's wife, did an outstanding spotting job making it the most interesting team frequency to monitor.

450.7250
451.4750
452.7750
455.1250
456.9500
461.6500
461.7125
461.7625
462.6250
463.2750
463.6875
464.5750
464.7875
468.7250
469.3875

Once again, I would reccomend taking two radios to the track in order to monitor most efficiently. One radio scanning the officials and the race receiver would keep you on top of the action while you used the second radio to search for and scan the teams.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net

CEMA Issues Imperial Sugar Refinery Explosion After Action Report

I was working on a post about CEMA's After Action Report for the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion with hopes of posting it tonight. A power outtage that caused the file to disappear has delayed those plans. Having to start typing from scratch, I hope to get it up some time tomorrow afternoon or evening.

In the meantime, you can find the After Action Report here. It is a docmument that Amateur Radio Operators interested in Emergency Communications and the radio hobbyist interested in public safety monitoring should read.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net