Navy-Marine Corps Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) PROUDLY SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE! Brief for Region EM Review Committee San Diego, Ca Presented by ITC(SW) Thomason/Frank Ratty Director, Navy-Marine Corps MARS Pacific Area 23 September2005

Preview  Brief History of MARS  Mission and Functions  Organization and Pacific Area HQ  Equipment and Installation  Training  Current Projects

Brief History of Navy-Marine Corps MARS u Navy ‑ Marine Corps MARS authorized on 17 August 1962 by the Secretary of the Navy. u Implemented on 1 January u DoD Directive issued on 30 November 1968 directing each service to establish a MARS program. u DoD Directive of January 26, 1998 is the current directive. u The directive sets forth policies concerning DoD support of both MARS and civil Amateur Radio activities.

MARS Mission and Major Functions u Mission: “Provide DON and DOD emergency communications on local, national, and international basis as an adjunct to normal naval communications.” u Major Functions: –Provide auxiliary communications to military, federal or civil disaster officials during emergencies. –Assist in effecting normal naval communications under emergency conditions. –Handle morale and quasi-official record and voice communications traffic for authorized personnel.

NAVMARCORMARS Organization

NORTHEAST AREA Groton CT NOASI 425 members CENTRAL AREA Great Lakes IL NOASG 616 members SOUTH AREA Corpus Christi TX NOASF 287 members PACIFIC AREA San Diego CA NOASE 384 members New Areas and Regions

MARS Headquarters u Located at Building 1 since u The old Navy District HQ. u MARS setup to match the Naval District Organization.

Quarterly Participation AREAMBRSMSGS MSGS/ MBR PARTICIPATION HOURS HOURS/ MBR Northeast South Central Pacific

Age of Members Average Age

Equipment and Installation  HF Station Components  Antennas  Transceivers  Auxiliary equipment

Training  Use of Equipment  Operating Manual  MARS Personnel in Setup and Operation

Recent Major Emergency Communication Exercises  Bad Bug 2000 – Joint MARS Exercise Y2K preparation (December 1999).  J-REX 2000 – Multi-agency terrorism exercise involving 12 states, deployment of 4 Auxiliary Radio Teams (October 2000).  Grecian Firebolt ’01, ’02, ’03 and ’04 – Tri- service MARS exercises with National Guard and other military units.

Actual Disasters/Emergencies  2001 Washington earthquakes  western states wildfires  Terrorist attacks  Numerous Essential Elements of Information (EEI) messages submitted to DOMS on continuing basis.  Region 7 ECOM net active 24/7 to support MARS and SHARES Agencies.  Hurricane Isabel – 2003  4 Florida hurricanes of 2004

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Current Activities u USS Midway u Regional Operations Center (ROC) u Mobile Communications Unit (MCU) u Satellite Stations

Questions ?