Happy New Year, MCARES!
I’m so glad to be entering a new year with the state’s best radio crew. I would especially like to thank the leadership team for spending an entire Saturday in December to chart our path through the new year. As we go forward in the new year a lot of the same skills and themes from before will be returning. There are also minor tweaks to improve on the strong operating foundation we have built over the last several years.
Our main focus areas will continue to be digital field operations (Winlink from temporary locations) and building our technical and operation knowledge and skills. We have some new equipment, and a slight revision to the existing field kits. By late spring, I expect a new portable asset to be deployed (the Spartan trailer). Our exercises and drills will attempt to repeat and cement our basic skills, while allowing room for growth as well.
Later in the year we will have our campout, which I have aligned with the “Worked All Europe” DX SSB contest. I hope to include a tailgate swap meet element to the August go kit show-and-tell. Right off the bat in January there is Winter Field Day on Jan 25th and our first drill will be a pajama drill on February 1st. I hope to see everyone at the January general membership meeting for a discussion of SOP revisions and further discussion of the year ahead.
Thanks to all, and I am sincerely looking forward to it!