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 Previous: ARRL, DoD, FCC Try to Come to Terms with Pave Paws |  Next: Surfin': Don't Stop Surfin' |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 8, 2007 -- Although the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season had yet to begin, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) alert for the fictitious "Hurricane Susan" in late March sent special teams of Army Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) emergency responders scurrying to duty stations from Miami to Houston and beyond. Dubbed "Operation Sidewinder," the drill aimed to test a new HF digital backup communication link for airports in case a weather or terrorist event ever compromised conventional telecommunications, as Katrina did in 2005. For this first comprehensive trial run, Army MARS mobilized a new Winlink digital communication system, with Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps MARS members providing active support.
"The TSA/MARS deployment capabilities were fully demonstrated and performed without error," said TSA's summary report from busy Tucson International Airport, where government officials joined Army MARS senior staff to monitor the exercise. "Very few problems were encountered during the exercise, and all members operated professionally and were able to successfully demonstrate the objectives."
Operation Sidewinder marked the first comprehensive demonstration of the TSA's partnership with the Army MARS, a Pentagon-sponsored organization of volunteer Amateur Radio operators that supports federal government agencies during emergencies. MARS has some 5000 members in its separate Army, Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps branches.
Last July, the Network Enterprise Technology Command/Ninth Army Signal Command at Fort Huachuca, Arizona -- which oversees Army MARS -- signed a comprehensive mutual-aid agreement with the TSA, which most people only know for its role in screening airline passengers and luggage. As MARS members learned, however, the TSA's mandate extends well beyond that.
Earlier this year, the TSA, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), adopted the MARS Winlink emergency communications network for deployment at major airports. DHS has not adopted Winlink on a department-wide basis, however. Developed by radio amateurs, Winklink -- a robust digital HF messaging system -- already is gaining popularity in Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) circles.
Joe Hennigan, Director of Technology Support in the DHS Operations Coordination Directorate, say a key ingredient of the WinLink 2000 system is its ability to provide interconnectivity between HF radio and the Internet. The use of Winlink 2000 permits access to SHARES [SHared RESources program of the National Communications System] and MARS systems via conventional HF/VHF/UHF radio circuits, he explains.
Category 3 Hurricane
The TSA's Operation Sidewinder script called for a Category 3 hurricane making landfall at Miami, crossing the peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico at Fort Myers, then brushing past Pensacola continuing on toward Houston. To drill MARS's capabilities in multiple emergencies, TSA Washington staffer Michael Barrett, K3MMB/AAT3NP, the agency's coordinator with Army MARS, added a possible terrorist operation concurrent with the weather emergency. Barrett watched that scenario unfold from Tucson.
"Awesome" was how Army MARS Chief Stuart Carter described his members' performance in Operation Sidewinder.
"Army MARS provides an unparalleled emergency response capability which is low cost, accessible from anywhere in the continental US, always available, has no competition for bandwidth, has 2600 licensed operators, and has Army MARS-developed HF e-mail capability," Carter said in his summary to his headquarters.
Stuart said Operation Sidewinder gave MARS members the opportunity to demonstrate long-haul HF connectivity, local VHF communication, HF e-mail, a WiFi computer interface with HF radio for e-mail, a TSA HF mobile facility, an Army MARS volunteer's vehicle capable of indefinite HF operations, and two small, light and portable HF suites.
Interoperability Reigns
From start to finish, interoperability reigned. At Miami International Airport, Air Force MARS member and TSA screener Michael Green, WA4ZVW/AFA2MY, activated the TSA Winlink station and dispatched an initial situation report to inform the network that the airport had shut down in the face of 115 MPH winds. At Pensacola, federal airport screener Jeff Smith, W4ZH, brought up TSA's AAN4PNS portable unit.
Observing it all was the Operation Sidewinder anchor station, AAN9TUS, at Tucson International Airport. Grant Hays WB6OTS/AAA9O, the Army MARS Director of Operations at Ft Huachuca headed the MARS operations team, which included MARS Frequency Manager Dwayne Smith, KK7VE/AAA9F, and Arizona members Al West, K7JUB/AAR9ED/T, an airport screener, and Jim Wooddell, K7WFR/AAM9RT, the Region 9 training officer.
TSA chose Tucson because both local and long-haul emergency communication could be monitored from there, and Army MARS headquarters was nearby. "The goal was to demonstrate command and control capabilities being established in non-traditional sites," the agency said.
Other TSA stations joined in from Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston and Charleston, West Virginia. At Charleston's Yeager Airport, a 10 member MARS support team handled 50 text messages along with several photos. Texas Army MARS Winlink gateway AAB6TX logged 236 exercise messages in addition to secondary voice and MT63 digital traffic.
Additional participants included the Pentagon's AAN3PNT, the Army North headquarters at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio; FEMA Region 6, and the Texas State Emergency Operations Center, plus dozens of Army, Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps MARS members who joined on their own initiative.
At least for some participants, Operation Sidewinder marked the debut of a new kind of amateur connectivity -- via handheld wireless device. Reported Carter: "E-mail sent to the TSA attendees' Blackberry's showed them firsthand that even though propagation was at an historical low, the messages got through." -- US Army MARS Public Affairs/Bill Sexton, N1IN
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