Bluegrass Amateur Radio Society

                                                  What is MARS?

A Defense Department  Organization of Licensed  Radio Operators in support of Emergency and Contingency  Communications. 
                                                What MARS Does: 
We train constantly to provide voice and digital links for military, federal, state, and local response agencies.  MARS is a part of the National Incident Response System (NIMS) established after 9/11. 
We maintain our own amateur radio equipment in constant readiness for response to any support request. 
We operate state, regional, and national HF military radio networks on a daily basis to perfect our operating skills and test our equipment.  In an emergency, these nets are ready for immediate action. 
We participate in exercises with other emergency entities including the US Army Northern Command (ARNORTH), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the National Communications .  Members are required to complete FEMA’s first responder NIMS courses. 
We develop and apply new technology such as Winlink 2000 (WL2K), Automatic Link Establishment (ALE), and other digital modes. 
We have working relations with the American Radio Relay League, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, SHARES, and  Air Force MARS.

 

For further information contact:    Harvey Frye 

                                                                   AA4HF@ckycs.biz

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