TRAINING
for
Net Participation and Associated Emergency Operations
By R. Bruce Winchell - N8UT
Copyright 1997
Authorized for Non-Profit Reproduction with Copyright Reference
The purpose of this document is to provide some basic rules that apply to ALL
"Declared " or "Directed" voice or "phone"
nets. Some of
these rules, (1, 2, &3) will apply to any net; in any mode. Mixed in with the nuts and
bolts of net activity, you will find some basic rules of conduct with which you must be
familiar. They are every bit as important, if not more so, than your ability to run your
radio. If your conduct is out of line, you can absolutely destroy hard-won relationships
that have taken years to build with our served agencies.
A "declared" net is defined as any net that begins with a statement from an
operator that a net is being started for a particular purpose, and that someone is
assuming duties as Net Control Station, (NCS.)
Declared nets can take many different formats and styles.
OPEN NET FORMAT: This type of declared net can be nearly invisible. A group has declared a
net to be active, but not much is happening. The repeater or frequency is being used
normally. The net is transparent and running in the background. A typical use for this
type net is during the early stages of weather watches. Operators are occasionally
reporting some weather condition to an informal NCS. Other than that, the rag chewing is
proceeding normally.
DIRECTED NET FORMAT: There are two basic types of directed nets: Formal and Informal.
Informal Directed Nets are your normal Tuesday night club net, Elmers Net, CW practice
net, ARES teaching net, Public Service Events, etc. Formal Directed Nets include
ACTIVATION of ARES/RACES personnel for Fire Nets, SKYWARN, earthquake, or other Emergency
Activations. In either case, the NCS declares the net to be active and actively controls
the frequency. A specific topic, conditions, and/or set of instructions for check-in may
be given. Normal usage of the frequency is stopped.
Net Control Stations can quickly become overwhelmed by rapidly accumulating administrative
and logistical requirements. As the scope of an operation grows, the Main (Command) NCS
may activate one or more supporting sub-nets to handle these duties. This reduces the
traffic flow to, and maintains the efficiency of, the main net. These sub-nets operate
independent of the main net and have their own NCS. They report and respond to the main
net. Some typical names for these sub-nets are: Resource (personnel, standby, relief,
scheduling), Logistics (supply, transportation), Health & Welfare, Search &
Rescue, Damage Assessment , ARESMAT, and Security.
GENERAL RULES OF OPERATION:
1. The Net Control Station has ABSOLUTE CONTROL of the frequency until the net is closed.
2. All communications must pass through the authority of the NCS for the duration of the
net. If you wish to speak with another station involved in the net, ask NCS for permission
to "go direct." Make sure it is important and relevant to the net activity.
Personal transmissions are inappropriate.
3. During any net, but of particular importance in Emergency Nets, the NCS may give
check-in instructions, requesting information he/she wants as part of your check-in to the
net. If no special instructions are given for an emergency net, give NCS the following:
Call sign (ALWAYS PHONETICALLY), Name, Mobile or Base?, RACES qualified?, Available for
how long?, band/equipment availability and condition of your radio power source.
4. If the NCS announces that all operators should check-in to a "Resource" net,
you should follow those instructions. If this occurs, you will know that the NCS is in a
Tactical or Command Operations mode and is very busy. Do not attempt to check-in with that
NCS. Go to the requested frequency and check-in with the NCS there. Stay on the Resource
net frequency. A Resource Net is a holding area where you will stay until given an
assignment. When you receive your assignment from the Resource NCS, follow his
instructions exactly. Listen carefully. The instructions may have a direct bearing on your
personal safety and they may change during the course of the net.
5. Once you have
"checked in" (joined the net), you should NEVER leave the assigned frequency or
your transmitter without telling the NCS unless you are in immediate danger.
6. If the net is
called for any emergency or semi-emergency purpose, you may be issued a tactical call sign
by the NCS. Normally, only KEY stations, with a special function, will be assigned a
tactical call sign. If you are assigned a tactical call sign, use it as much as possible.
You are still obligated to use your FCC issued call sign to ID every 10 minutes. If the
NCS senses that there is going to be a lull in the action, he/she may call for all
operators to ID. In emergency nets, don't interrupt the flow of emergency traffic just to
ID. Just fit it into your next transmission. Example: "Net, . . . KA8AAA as Fire One.
. . . . "
7. In emergency
nets, keep all your transmissions short and to-the-point. Think about what you are going
to say before you transmit. Rule: Think it, Say it, Get off the key!! Don't rag chew . . .
even a little bit.
8. LISTEN,
LISTEN, LISTEN - Pay attention to everything that is going on!! Failure to do so could
endanger your life!! If a situation escalates, you may be asked to assume a larger role .
. . maybe take over a sub-net? If you haven't been keeping track of the situation, you
won't be very effective.
9. If the NCS
requests that you join a sub-net on another frequency, report and check-in to that net as
quickly as possible and STAY on the sub-net frequency!! DON'T switch back and forth
between nets!!! It may not be as "exciting" on a sub-net, but there is a very
definite reason why you were asked to go to work there . . . they are going to need your
help!!!
10. Reporters
will be everywhere that there might be a tidbit of unique information about any incident
or event. This is especially true if you are working a front-line disaster field site.
NEVER MAKE ANY COMMENT TO A MEMBER OF THE MEDIA!!! That is the job of the Public
Information Officer.
"I CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION." is always a good answer. Refer them to the PIO.
Media personnel are trained to be very convincing and are very clever at getting you to
say something. What they will always be looking for will be information regarding
injuries, deaths, addresses of the most severe damage, license numbers of vehicles, rail
car numbers, and possible reported causes which might lead them to a
"trail-of-responsibility/blame." This type information is confidential and is to
be passed only by more secure means, i.e. . . . packet or courier, which they cannot
access by scanner. If you don't recognize a person as someone you absolutely know, beyond
a shadow of a doubt, to be part of the authorized on-site operations team, don't discuss
the situation with them!!
11. Should you ever find yourself in a situation where you have found a dead body, or body
parts, DO NOT report this to the NCS. Request only that the NCS send the appropriate
authorities and help to your location on a priority basis. If the NCS should happen to ask
for more details, refuse to give them and repeat your request. A smart and trained NCS
operator will catch on quickly. In the case of a discovered injury or body entrapment,
notify the NCS immediately, but NEVER TRANSMIT THE NAME OF AN INJURED, TRAPPED OR DECEASED
SUBJECT.
12. NEVER leave your post or the person you have been assigned to
"Shadow"without notifying the NCS. If the authorities ask you to move, do so
immediately and without comment; but notify the NCS of your change in status as soon as
you can.
13. Remember: We are communicators. We do not make decisions about anything for the
authorities. They are in charge, not us. It is not your call to decide that more fire
engines are needed, or that an emergency generator is needed somewhere. Your only job is
to communicate, when asked to do so, what the authorities want communicated. They do not
HAVE to use you at all; and many times they won't. Do not insist that they do. You are
there to provide them with an extra way for them to pass information when their
communications systems either fail or become overloaded. Tell them you are available for
service when needed and back off . . . speak only when spoken to, stay visible and pay
attention. Nothing can be more embarrassing than to "lose" the person you are
supposed to shadow.
14. It may be quicker and more efficient to hand your microphone to the person who wishes
to pass a message than to try and relay it yourself. Don't be afraid to let the
authorities operate as third parties. Just hand them the mike and tell them they can't use
foul language or conduct commercial business. Relays often become incorrectly
"translated" by the relay operator, especially if there is a high percentage of
special agency terminology, technical terms or jargon that you do not really understand.
15. If an on-scene authority requests that you shut your radio off, or that you not
transmit, please do what they ask without question. Normally, they will tell you why, but
they don't have to. This is one circumstance where you do not notify the NCS of a change
in your status. This deserves a little explanation. This would normally occur only If
there is a presence of explosives or explosive chemicals or vapors, and there is the
possibility that a spark producing electronic device is present like blasting caps, smoke
detectors, receivers, telephones, etc., which might be triggered by an RF Signal.
16. In Emergency Nets you will, on rare occasions, hear a station break in with the words,
"Priority" or "Emergency". When either of these words is heard,
everything Stops! NCS is obligated to stop everything and answer these calls immediately!
It is important that you clearly understand when these words are to be used.
PRIORITY - means that your message concerns an immediate SAFETY ISSUE regarding Human Life
or Injury or an immediate SAFETY ISSUE regarding impending property damage.
EMERGENCY is the highest priority message possible. It must involve, and is reserved for,
ONLY those messages which contain information that someone IS ABSOLUTELY in DANGER OF
DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY IF YOUR MESSAGE ISN'T HEARD IMMEDIATELY.
Here is an example: If you observe that a damaged brick wall is in danger of falling into
the street . . . that is a safety issue, and should rank as a Priority call. If the wall
just fell on two people in the street, that is a "danger of death" issue and
would definitely qualify as an Emergency call.
17. Whenever you join a net, . . . any net, try to turn your emotional sensitivity down a
couple of notches. To operate with continuing professionalism, you have to become as
objective as possible. Don't lose sight of what you are trying to accomplish. Develop as
unemotional an attitude as possible to what is happening, how you are spoken to, how you
speak, how you react to someone else's inexperience, how you react to what sounded like a
drill sergeant's direct order, etc.
On the air, there is never a proper time or place for emotional outbursts or criticism of
any kind.
Be patient with the NCS. An NCS operator is under high stress. His questions and requests
should be clear and crisp; but as he/she begins to tire, there may be a tendency to become
rather terse. You may be tired, wet, hungry and bored. It's a volatile mix. Be aware of
it. Typically, there is a whole lot going on in an NCS that the field operators never know
about. This stress level increases dramatically if the field operators are not well
trained. The higher the training levels for field operators and NCS operators, the
smoother everything will go.
18. One other very important rule of thumb: If you should hear on your scanner or by other
means, that there is an emergency in progress somewhere, DO NOT rush in and volunteer your
services or demand that you be used for communications. Nothing is more unwelcome and
distasteful to the authorities than an uninvited, eager-beaver, demanding ham. There is no
room for ambulance and fire truck chasing in the Amateur Radio Service. If you have not
been given a specific assignment by a Net Control Station, don't go to a disaster or
incident site. If they need us, they will call us out by contacting ARES/RACES leaders.
GENERAL NET STUFF
A common question from new hams is: "Who can start a net?" The answer is that
any licensed amateur radio operator can start a net. If you happen upon a situation that
will require assistance beyond your personal capabilities, don't be afraid to start a net
to get that assistance. A net doesn't have to be a massive event. Many times, only 3 or 4
stations are required to service a situation. If you are not comfortable running a net,
ask that someone else take the duties as NCS.
This leads us to another question: Who should be a NCS?. One of the more important, and
often overlooked factors is signal strength and audio quality. A weak station is virtually
useless as a net control. The NCS should be easily heard and understood by all net
participants. All the experience in the world is negated by a weak signal and poor audio.
A less experienced operator with a good signal and audio is much preferred to fill the NCS
operating position. Net Control functions can always be passed off to a more experienced
operator with a good signal.
Your experiences in emergency nets will eventually lead you to encounter something called
the "Incident Command System." This is a more or less universal method of
operation and communication for fire departments, emergency management, law enforcement
agencies and other government entities that deal with emergencies. It varies little from
place to place.
Well designed ARES/RACES organizations will incorporate elements of the Incident Command
System into their organizations, net structures, operating procedures and training
exercises. This allows responding hams to understand and operate without confusion because
they have been trained using the same basic organizational structure as the served
agencies. Nearly any time that conflict occurs between a served agency and an amateur
radio group, the conflict is based on the fact that the amateurs and their leaders don't
understand, utilize and practice using ICS structures. The biggest problems occur when an
amateur operator or net control is suddenly told to report to someone new. Just do it!
Report the change to your NCS. (He probably already knows about the change.) The Command
System approached an overload point and it just split up some duties and responsibilities.
Your job is the same . . . you just got a new boss.
The operational principles of the ICS are quite simple and easy to incorporate. The basic
concept of the ICS is that a system (net) will reach a point of overload and inefficiency
at some point in an escalating event. The ICS pre-defines these limits quite effectively.
When a lead organization (Main or Tactical net) begins to hit the overload threshold, it
splits off into smaller pre-defined and easily controlled special units (sub-nets) that
take on specific responsibilities and levels of authority in support of the lead
organization. These smaller units operate independently and report only priority traffic
to the lead organization. The focus is always on keeping the "Span of Control"
quite narrow at all levels. In a big emergency situation, you will seldom find more than 7
(usually 5) units (sub-nets) reporting to a lead organization (net control). Simple and
highly efficient. So, why don't hams like to use it?
Hams are patriotic, independent people and they are volunteers. The general attitude among
hams is that "Volunteers don't have to take orders." That's absolutely correct.
We don't have to take orders. But, in the opinion of this Author, if we are going to be
really effective in dealing with the served agencies, we have to respect and cooperate
with the word "command" in the Incident Command System. When we step into a
professional para-military "Command" structure as a volunteer, we should expect,
and be willing, to be commanded!! We pay great lip service to the words "Serve,
Service, and Served." All these words relate directly to the word
"Servant", and Servants do have to take some commands occasionally. We should
expect it, respect a system that works, accept it and learn how to function within it.