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Amateur Radio Community Experts Crucial to Emergency Communications

by David J. Trachtenberg

A system that was used in the past primarily to support military morale has been fulfilling a new mission: emergency preparedness. For the past several years, the Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) has been called upon during times of crisis, including the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and natural disasters, to ensure continuity of communications. The program trains a cadre of licensed amateur radio operators to understand and become proficient in emergency military communications protocol and procedures, including the use of modern digital technologies. However, this national communications treasure could falter if it does not receive adequate attention and funding.

Started as the U.S. Army Amateur Radio System in 1925 by members of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, MARS was officially established in 1948 with U.S. Air Force participation, and it became a joint service program in 1962 with the inclusion of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Many veterans recall MARS from the Korean and Vietnam wars as a group of volunteer amateur radio operators who relayed telephone patches and morale messages between service personnel stationed abroad and their families at home. Even as recently as operation Desert Storm, thousands of messages were relayed. Today, as a U.S. Defense Department-sponsored program managed separately by the services, MARS can provide an emergency adjunct to normal communications locally, nationally or internationally.

With the advent of cell phones, computers, satellites and the Internet, the utility of high frequency radio for this task has diminished. Even though MARS has evolved and adapted its mission to contemporary circumstances, its present-day value may not be fully appreciated outside a limited circle of radio enthusiasts.

With the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002, responsibility for many of the nation’s critical infrastructures migrated under a centralized DHS authority. This includes the National Communications System (NCS), which is tasked with ensuring a reliable national telecommunications infrastructure that is capable of supporting government requirements, including effective emergency communications. Within the NCS framework, the Shared Resources High Frequency Radio Program (SHARES) provides a nationwide emergency communications capability; many MARS operators also participate in SHARES.

The interoperability between MARS and SHARES is beneficial to emergency communications planning, training and operations. To improve coordination between the two distinct programs, MARS recently completed a realignment of its organizational structure. With MARS participation, SHARES conducts regular exercises of the communications system and has provided critical communications support during hurricanes and other disasters. MARS’ support to SHARES has become essential because not enough federal civil service employees are trained in the high frequency radio operations that comprise SHARES to make it work without the assistance of experienced MARS operators.

Because more than 5,000 MARS operators volunteer their time to participate at personal expense, the cost to the Defense Department to manage the program is negligible. In fact, a report to Congress by former Defense Secretary William Cohen in 1997 noted that using MARS volunteer operators in lieu of Defense Department or commercial resources saved the department between $11 million and $27 million annually.

Exercising the MARS mission could benefit from active guidance and oversight by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). With Defense Department budgets likely to tighten, support for MARS should be obvious; however, the importance of a program often is measured by the size of its budget. Without a significant budget to oversee, generating an OSD-level of ownership interest in the program has been difficult.

The department’s sponsorship is not synonymous with Defense Department leadership. Without a more robust appreciation of the value of this highly skilled cadre of communications specialists, MARS will continue to be viewed as a low priority at best and as a backwater project of the individual services and a relic of a bygone era at worse.

This view may be common, but it is also shortsighted. Continuation of the MARS program should reflect its true value. In an age where modern and sophisticated technologies create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by adversaries using asymmetric approaches such as anti-satellite weapons and cyberwarfare, an efficient, effective and reliable auxiliary means of communicationseven one based on “obsolete” technologymay prove essential should the unthinkable happen.

Some members of Congress understand the value of MARS and have sought to promote its continued relevance in today’s changing threat environment. For example, in the 110th Congress, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced H.R. 2743, “The Military Affiliate Radio System Emergency Communication Act of 2007.” Among other provisions, H.R. 2743 would have encouraged the Secretary of DHS to incorporate the use of MARS personnel, capabilities and equipment in emergency communications planning. However, no action was taken on the bill.

With a new administration and new Congress come new opportunities. The hope is that these will translate into a better appreciation of the value of MARS.


David J. Trachtenberg, president and chief executive officer,
Shortwaver Consulting LLC, is a former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy and a member of Air Force MARS and SHARES.