MARS changes name and direction

[wuzafuzz]

Communications folks may find this article on the ARRL website interesting.  For those who don't know, MARS is the Military Auxiliary Radio System, operated my military personnel and licensed amateur radio operators. 

I've seen some articles detailing cooperation between CAP communicators and MARS stations, which is why I posted this.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/24/11267/?nc=1

"On Wednesday, December 23, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an Instruction concerning MARS, effective immediately. This Instruction gives the three MARS services -- Army, Air Force and Navy/Marine Corps -- a new focus on homeland security and a new name: Military Auxiliary Radio System. The Instruction is the first major revision to MARS since January 26, 1988 -- as such, the first revision since the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, two major events that changed the way Amateur Radio dealt with emergency communications." 

[Johnny Yuma]

So basically the DoD is going to require MARS to actually do something useful, and comply with NIMS?

Stick a fork in them, they're done.

90 percent of their members still believe they have a purpose passing H&W traffic and providing phone patches, having no clue that email and SATCOM has surpassed them.

Most of the membership refuses to comply with NTIA specs for radios, making them a secondary user of all their frequencies. Get a MARS member to take ICS100, 200 and 700? Forget it.

[Fubar]

I'm not familiar with MARS, but if I understand the linked article correctly,MARS will be considered a military auxiliary. Since the article states MARS provides services to the Air Force, it would seem there are now two civilian auxiliaries the Air Force can task.

I've seen numerous references to the Civil Air Patrol being the Air Force auxiliary, does this mean we'll have to change the verbiage?

[Senior]

Won't this change take away a job from CAP in the Commo area?
That is what I got from going over the article.

[Hawk200]

Won't this change take away a job from CAP in the Commo area?

If it works the way it should, MARS could be supplemental or a mutual partner. It should add, rather than take anything. Of course, that's in the "in theory" concept. Reality may prove differently.

[PHall]

Does anybody know if the MARS guys are using ALE yet?

[wuzafuzz]

Does anybody know if the MARS guys are using ALE yet?

I believe I've read they already use ALE, at least in some areas. 

With regard to MARS replacing CAP commo, remember we can't place a MARS operator on every CAP flight and ground team.  Our own comms must remain.  Plus, at least in my neck of the woods, the MARS VHF net is on a local ham repeater.  Not legal for CAP.

Could MARS supplement what we do?  There MAY be opportunities to work cooperatively.  Some squadrons have done it.  MARS operators are allowed to do some things CAP prohibits, like digital communications.

Since I'm only a Tech class ham, I know I'd like to learn some things from the local MARS guys and gals.  Some cooperation on training exercises might be useful.

Whether it would make sense for MARS to routinely supplement CAP is another story.  Will MARS operators be readily available to us when we want them most?  Think big disaster scenarios.  Arguably that is when we would want long haul comms the most (a MARS strength and a CAP weakness).  MARS would probably be busy serving other customers and CAP commo should be trained up to be self-supporting.  A CAP mission where MARS isn't otherwise tasked opens some interesting possibilities for cooperation.  We can't become dependent on MARS, unless our needs are a high priority for them.  IMHO, that won't happen.

[AirAux]

This brings up two questions.  Will the Air Force fund this out of our money?  What uniform will they wear?  Oh, a third question,  Will they have a cadet corps?

[Nick]

This brings up two questions.  Will the Air Force fund this out of our money?  What uniform will they wear?  Oh, a third question,  Will they have a cadet corps?

I think you're reading a bit too much into this.  Air Force MARS has been around for 60 years (after it changed from AARS).  It sole purpose is passing radio traffic.  This big hoopla is nothing more than a name change and some rewriting of their mission.

Whatever funding they get, they already have.  The non-AF members of MARS don't wear a uniform, they're typically Ham operators sitting at home behind their HF radio in their underwear.  And no, there's not a cadet corps -- you have to be 17 to be a member in the program.

(Rinse and repeat for the other services' MARS programs)

[wuzafuzz]

This brings up two questions.  Will the Air Force fund this out of our money?  What uniform will they wear?  Oh, a third question,  Will they have a cadet corps?

I think you're reading a bit too much into this.  Air Force MARS has been around for 60 years (after it changed from AARS).  It sole purpose is passing radio traffic.  This big hoopla is nothing more than a name change and some rewriting of their mission.

Whatever funding they get, they already have.  The non-AF members of MARS don't wear a uniform, they're typically Ham operators sitting at home behind their HF radio in their underwear.  And no, there's not a cadet corps -- you have to be 17 to be a member in the program.

(Rinse and repeat for the other services' MARS programs)

OK, this is NOT a uniform thread, but unless things have changed since these photos were taken, Army MARS does sport BDU's.  They do wear the big "civilian" US triangle above the branch tape.  Pretty sure the sky must be falling, because they wear subdued nametapes.  Horrors!   
http://www.armymars.net/ArmyMARS/ECU/images/GF05-Jun05/index.htm

Please, no more suggestions of radio operators in their underwear.  Some of them are scary enough when fully clothed.   

Looks like a fair amount of VHF/UHF gear in those photos?

[RADIOMAN015]

Actually in some geographic areas of the country, MARS provides a good service via HF SSB as well as a variety of digital methods.  In our wing (and the two wings to our south) the MARS program interlinks all of their VHF repeaters.
Some progressive communicators in CAP are looking into the possibility of establishing MARS "club stations" jointly located at CAP communications facilities, so that there may be good backup to CAP comms if needed.   Big selling point of marks is that they use digital HF method for email and those emails can be entered into the internet at a gateway for delivery, or for that matter email can be sent via wire to a wireless gateway.
I think that if CAP communications reaches out to the MARS community, we may find that they can help us in some of our geographic areas that have communications coverage issues.
RM

[Nick]

I think that if CAP communications reaches out to the MARS community, we may find that they can help us in some of our geographic areas that have communications coverage issues.

Absolutely ... I think that was the idea behind this whole "interoperability" thing we heard so much about -- we (CAP) are an Air Force communications asset, AFMARS is an Air Force communications asset ... why not pool the resources when it's mutually beneficial?

[redfox98]

I just had to reply to this one, being not only CAP, but also a 37 year member of USAF MARS, first joining after I enlisted in 1972.
Basically this takes USAF MARS- I am not that familiar with Navy/Army,  to where is was prior to the mid 1980s.
USAF MARS was administered under AFM100-15. Almost every Active USAF base had  a Mars station operating 8hr/day 5 days/wk. Certain bases MARS stations were desginated key stations and operated 24/7. These were staffed by military personell - the same AFSC (specialty code) who also staffed the Global HF stations (still in operation today), and MARS provided a good trainign ground for them
The affiliates supplemented that operation.  Most of the support were from affiliates located near active bases, or reserve/ANG installations who formed into base support teams- no uniforms, but they supplemented the operators at the base stations when needed. Many times MARS deployed to provide remote comms from aircraft accident sites, or in case of comm outages due to cable cuts or power outages. Also, quite a few were reserve/ANG personell- and way back then they earned retirement points for MARS participation, so this is nothing new. This just about all shut down in the early 90s, AFM100-15 was cancelled, and the funding removed- but most bases have mothballed stations.

Currently- there is  almost no H/W traffic, and most of the evening region nets are kind of quiet, except for check ins but there is a very active phone patch network operating daily providing morale and quasi offical comms for airborne folks, mainly on the long haul routes- google afmars phone patch. Also there is a active digital network both manned keyboard, and automatic using pactor and other digital modes. Not much VHF, it was discouraged during the 90s, but  when I was on active duty we set up a bunch of VHF-HF phone patches,

So we will see where this takes us now.

[redfox98]

Oh, by the way, up until a couple of years ago, USAF MARS had a whole block of callsigns reserved for CAP auxillary stations, they were AGC()XX, where a number in parenthesis would be the region designator and the XX, a 2 letter wings designator, for instance, Illinois Wing would have been AGC3IL, and then individual units would be a unit under that callsign, like unit 1, unit 2, etc.   

I dont know if any wing ever applied for an aux station license.  These callsigns are not listed anymore in the current USAF MARS Operating instructions which were signed in Jan 2009. They were in previous years MOI'S

[BuckeyeDEJ]

This brings up two questions.  Will the Air Force fund this out of our money?  What uniform will they wear?  Oh, a third question,  Will they have a cadet corps?

I'm sure that was tongue-in-cheek. Still, for the story to cite CAP and the CGAux, well...

All members may be considered for benefits associated with DoD civilian service, such as access to DoD morale, welfare and recreation Category C recreational facilities and access to DoD credit unions.

Hmmm. They'll get stuff we don't, and we wear uniforms, salute and walk in squares. And fly missions at a moment's notice....

[♠SARKID♠]

Does anybody know if the MARS guys are using ALE yet?

The linked pictures Wuzafuzz posted show a Micom-2E on their commo rack; would lead me to believe that they are, or at least have the capability.

[arajca]

MARS is using ALE, however, they have the ability to use amatuer ALE systems, which CAP lacks.