Arlington County, Virginia RACES David Jordan Department of Technology Services Chief Information Security Officer OEM Technical Liaison, Emergency Support Function #2 Lead

ABOUT RADIO AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE (RACES) RACES was established under the Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations, 47 CFR , as part of the amateur radio service. RACES is employed during a variety of emergency/disaster situations where normal governmental communications systems have sustained damage or when additional communications are required or desired. Situations that RACES can be used include: natural disasters, technological disasters, civil disorder, nuclear/chemical incidents, acts of terrorism or enemy attack.

ARLINGTON RACES MISSION The mission of Arlington County RACES is to establish and maintain the leadership and organizational infrastructure necessary to provide amateur radio communications in support of emergency management in Arlington County Virginia. Arlington County’s RACES Officer (RO) reports to the OEM Emergency Support Function #2 “Emergency Communications” Lead.

RACES MISSION FOCUS RACES Mission = Communications (Unless otherwise requested by the Office of Emergency management, the served agency) Use of RACES assets for other purposes: Assisting in searches Assisting in searches Setting up or staffing shelters Setting up or staffing shelters Moving, setting-up or troubleshooting equipment Moving, setting-up or troubleshooting equipment Answering telephones or keyboarding data into networks Answering telephones or keyboarding data into networks Communications Network infrastructure restoration Communications Network infrastructure restoration MUST NOT jeopardize the primary communication mission!

RACES EARLY BEGINNINGS IN ARLCO ARLCO OEM Establishes RACES RO Arlington County Public Service Club sponsors RACES ARPSC installs 2m, 220, Red Cross repeaters RACES Volunteer recruitment starts 10/05/05 25 licensed amateurs sign-up 30 unlicensed county employees express interest in getting a license. Technician Class developed for WEBCAST and self-training Basic RACES Operator Class developed for WEBCAST and self-training ( Arlington Radio Public Service Club ™ W4AVA / R Arlington, Virginia MHz (- 600 KHz) - Tone WB4MWF / R -- Arlington, Virginia MHz (- 1.6 MHz) -- No Tone

OEM Emergency Support Function #2 EmCom ESF #2 responsible for County Government voice, video, data, EOC, MCVs, ETSU support and RACES. Three RACES Alternate Radio Officers Three Arlington RACES teams (ARL, FFX, ALEX, other jurisdictions).

Current ARLCO RACES Status 26 ARLCO certified RACES volunteers as of 04/10 RACES Team participates in major exercises (Fairfax, VA AEOC drill, FFX Simplex exercise, ARRL Field Day) Weekly Net exercises “Arlington Alert” activation by text enabled devices, etc. W4AVA.ORG website updated regularly

Volunteer Requirements Mandatory character background checks Successful completion of basic communications training Pass vehicle inspection Maintain active roll in exercises FEMA NIMS training required County issued OEM ID badge

RACES BASIC OPERATOR TRAINING UNIT 1: Introduction to Emergency Communication UNIT 2: Operating Procedures for Voice Nets UNIT 3: Message Handling Using ICS 213 Form UNIT 4: Personal Preparedness and Equipment Recommendations UNIT 5: RACES Interfaces and Functions in the EOC TEST (85 % or 38/50 required for passing)

Emergency Technology Support Unit Objectives Provide high speed Inet and Internet access to users and additional communications vehicles. Allow inbound and outbound connections from multitude of video end-points and to allow video conferencing from the vehicle and to host conferences from other video end-points Provide a mobile data storage solution to allow access of county resources such as Pictometery, traffic cameras, GIS data, and reporting tools. Provide HF, VHF, UHF station and UHF repeater

FEDERAL FACILITIES IN ARLCO Pentagon, Navy Annex, National Airport National Guard Readiness Center State Dept. Foreign Affairs Training Center > 30 other Federal agencies ARLCO responsible for first response to these agencies

RACES W4AVA REPEATERS OVERLOOKS DC/NOVA Excellent 144 & 220 MHz Coverage ARPSC W4AVA I-NET Remote HF with antennas for M American Red Cross GMRS and ARC business band repeater co-located with RACES and county’s public safety 800 radio system. ACFD owned I-net HF/VHF/UHF 80 meters-440MHz Diamond V-2000 tri-band MHz antennas at all 10 Fire Stations STATION W4AVA The Arlington Radio Public Service Club operates W4AVA, the National Capital Region's first club Internet Remote Amateur Radio (IRAR) HF station, as well as the ETSU and ACFD stations.

ARLINGTON RACES FUTURE Develop General class on-line licensing and RACES Basic Operator Courses ongoing Weekly practice nets, monthly activities FEMA Courses: IS-100, IS-700 etc. for Leaders and Operators Future goals: Packet equipped and trained, HF liaison stations ready

Contact Information Contact Information David Jordan Arlington County Government, Virginia Technical Liaison OEM, ESF #2 Lead, RACES Radio Officer Department of Technology Services Chief Information Security Officer