Your leadership Team got together for an all-day workshop to lay out the plan for the coming year. We went over the survey responses and tried to incorporate as many of the suggestions as were workable. The calendar of training and events that resulted is at the end of this newsletter. Many of you requested more hands-on training, and we attempted to address that need. The BEST way to get hands-on training is to participate in SETs, exercises, and public service events. We will let you know about as many of these as we can via the website, the newsletter, and announcements at our monthly meetings.
At the request of our County Emergency Manager, Chris Voss, we will also be putting a strong emphasis on digital radio communications. We are launching our Packet RMS Radio Operator Certification. Look for the task list on the MCARES website under the Training tab. We encourage all ARROs to get this certification.
The Portland NET program is about to launch their own ARO training program! It is modeled after our own ARRO training and is tailored to the specific needs of the NET program. For those NET hams who would like to be more involved with emergency amateur radio communications, becoming a member of MCARES, joining the Rover team, and participating in our meetings, exercises, and public events is encouraged.
I will be conducting three sets of ARRO workshops in the coming year. All new provisional members should attend these workshops after completing the FEMA IS-100, IS-200, and IS-700 on-line courses. This is a slight change from the past in that we are asking all members who are not yet ARRO certified to attend these workshops, and the ICS classes must be completed before attending the workshops.