AG10
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 10  ARLB010
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  March 24, 2005
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB010
ARLB010 Huge mass casualty exercise will put Amateur Radio under
scrutiny

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members in Connecticut and
elsewhere in the Northeast are poised to take part in what's being
characterized as the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise
ever conducted in the US. Sponsored by the US Department of Homeland
Security as a realistic test of the nation's homeland security
system, the exercise--TOPOFF 3--will run Monday through Friday,
April 4-8. Approximately 100 ARES volunteers primarily will support
the American Red Cross. While governmental agencies will comprise
the majority of those taking part in TOPOFF 3, Amateur Radio's
cooperation with, and assistance, to the American Red Cross will be
under scrutiny.

''We've been assigned evaluators and judges who will be watching what
we do and how we do it to determine our suitability for such things
in the future,'' explained Connecticut Section Emergency Coordinator
Chuck Rexroad, AB1CR. ''So we do hope that this will show that we are
very relevant in responding to a disaster situation.''

The TOPOFF 3 scenario will depict a complex terrorist campaign
beginning in Connecticut and New Jersey and leading to national and
international response that will include Canada and the United
Kingdom.

The only nongovernmental organization with a formal role in the
recently released National Disaster Plan, the Red Cross has main
responsibility for mass care. Rexroad anticipates that ARES will be
providing its traditional ''backbone'' communication support among Red
Cross mobile feeding stations, the organization's temporary
stationary facilities and other Red Cross units. ARES also will be
ready to provide back-up communication support the Connecticut
Office of Emergency Management, he said.

Rexroad and Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane, K1EIC, have
been gearing up for TOPOFF 3 for more than a year. Both hope the
ARES role in the drill will provide graduates of the ARRL Amateur
Radio Emergency Communications courses a chance to put into practice
what they've learned--on a national stage.

With the drill just days away, Rexroad said he still needs
volunteers from the region who will comfortable with a high-security
environment, realistic-looking ''injuries'' and military aircraft
flying overhead. Due to security requirements, all volunteers must
register with ARES in advance. Information on the exercise and how
to volunteer is on the Connecticut ARES Web site, www.ctares.org.