U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
Public Affairs
PRESS RELEASE
Date: 13 June 2008
Contact: Tom Nunes, Deputy Chief
National Department of Public Affairs
(602) 617-1979
tnunes@auxpa.org
http://www.new.auxpa.org/
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Ham Radio Operators “Show Off”
Flagstaff, AZ – Arizona’s Coast Guard Auxiliary Amateur Radio operators will show off their emergency communications capabilities June 28-29 at the Pine View RV Park at Camp Navajo in Bellemont, Arizona twelve miles west of Flagstaff. The public can meet and talk with these radio operators and learn what amateur radio emergency communications and the Coast Guard Auxiliary is about.
Amateur or Ham radio operators provide critical communications in emergencies. During Hurricane Katrina, ham radio - was often the only way people could communicate. When trouble is brewing, ham radio people along with the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary are often the first on scene and able to provide critical relief and communications.
This annual "Field Day" climaxes "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for amateur radio. With emergency power supplies, ham operators will build emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and back yards around the country. Their slogan, "Ham radio works when other systems don't!” is reinforced since they send multi-format messages without use of telephones, internet or other “normal” methods. More than 30,000 amateur radio operators across the country are expected to participate in this year's event.
"We hope that people will come and see for themselves. This is not your grandfather's radio anymore”, said Stan Klock, the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Communications Officer from Mesa, Arizona. "Communications networks that ham radio people can quickly create have saved many lives when other systems failed or were overloaded.”
There are 650,000 Amateur Radio licensees in the US, and more than 2.5 million around the world. Through the ARRL’s “ARES” program, ham volunteers provide emergency communications for thousands of state and local emergency response agencies, all free. To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to www.emergency-radio.org.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed civilian component of the United States Coast Guard. Created by an Act of Congress in 1939, the Auxiliary directly supports the Coast Guard in all missions, except military and direct law enforcement actions. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is an integral part of the United States Coast Guard. For more information visit http://www.cgaux.org/
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