The Hawaii Office of Homeland Security (OHS) will join the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) to conduct a training exercise this Sunday, April 16th, 2022. The exercise is designed to test an emergency coordination plan by amateur radio operators that would be necessary if a catastrophic event were to disable electricity, telephone service, and internet service throughout the state.
“We support the statewide training of amateur radio operators as part of the Incident Command System Structure (ICS), and the deployment of radio stations operated by volunteers, in preparing for disaster situations,” said Frank Pace, Administrator of the OHS.
ARES amateur radio operators register their equipment and qualifications with the ARES organization and aim to provide volunteer communications services during times of disaster and civil emergencies. Each county in Hawai‘i is organized by district, with a District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). Hawai‘i has more than 3,800 amateur radio operators throughout the state.
“It is exciting to see the incorporation of innovative technology such as the amateur radio developed GPS software mapping capabilities,” said Everett Kaneshige, Statewide Interoperability Coordinator for OHS. “Having multiple outlets for communication during a crisis is critical.”
Those who are interested in signing up for the exercise may use the link below.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzVLdAOjuD8r6paeyKaIj8hwag4AtSX2Vg-QjnUQSlaukW7Q/viewform