FEMA Administrator Calls Amateur Radio “The Last Line of Defense”

[Steve - K4HX]

FEMA Administrator Calls Amateur Radio “The Last Line of Defense”

05/25/2011

In an FCC forum on earthquake communications preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate described the Amateur Radio operator as “the ultimate backup, the originators of what we call social media.” The forum-- held May 3 at FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC -- brought together officials from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), FEMA, the FCC and the private sector. Fugate and FCC Bureau of Public Safety and Homeland Security Chief Jamie Barnett gave the opening remarks.

Later in the forum, Fugate spoke more on Amateur Radio. “During the initial communications out of Haiti, volunteers using assigned frequencies that they are allocated, their own equipment, their own money, nobody pays them, were the first ones oftentimes getting word out in the critical first hours and first days as the rest of the systems came back up,” he told the forum. “I think that there is a tendency because we have done so much to build infrastructure and resiliency in all our other systems, we have tended to dismiss that role ‘When Everything Else Fails.’ Amateur Radio oftentimes is our last line of defense.”

Fugate said that he thinks “we get so sophisticated and we have gotten so used to the reliability and resilience in our wireless and wired and our broadcast industry and all of our public safety communications, that we can never fathom that they’ll fail. They do. They have. They will. I think a strong Amateur Radio community [needs to be] plugged into these plans. Yes, most of the time they’re going be bored, because a lot of the time, there’s not a lot they’re going to be doing that other people aren’t doing with Twitter and Facebook and everything else. But when you need Amateur Radio, you really need them.”

You can watch a video of the forum on YouTube. Fugate’s remarks begin at 18:55.

[WV Hoopie]

Good to see someone still values our "free service" that works when needed. In my neck of the woods many operators are spending less time and money on this hobbie because of RFI.

nuf said,

WD8KDG,
craig

[WD8BIL]

Yes, most of the time they’re going (to) be bored,.........But when you need Amateur Radio, you really need them.

That's a good position. Better to have'em and not need'em than to need'em and not have'em!

[WA1GFZ]

Gee what a time to request some mil surplus rigs.

[K7EK]

Gee - I wonder if he got the memo about "Spectrum Management Bill, HR 607, Threatens Amateur Frequencies"? If FEMA values amateur radio so much, why don't they jump into this feet first and kill the present and future threats to our spectrum, before there is no more amateur radio as we know it?  I won't be holding my breath on this one.....
Best regards,

Gary E. Kohtala - K7EK

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Gee - I wonder if he got the memo about "Spectrum Management Bill, HR 607, Threatens Amateur Frequencies"? If FEMA values amateur radio so much, why don't they jump into this feet first and kill the present and future threats to our spectrum, before there is no more amateur radio as we know it?  I won't be holding my breath on this one.....
Best regards,

Gary E. Kohtala - K7EK

Ya, maybe they can also change the course of weather patterns, nip tornadoes in their infancy, and lower the price of gas too.

[k4kyv]

If FEMA values amateur radio so much, why don't they jump into this feet first and kill the present and future threats to our spectrum, before there is no more amateur radio as we know it?  I won't be holding my breath on this one.....

Or prod the FCC to do its mandated job and enforce existing rules against RFI pollution from power lines, traffic signals and consumer electronics junk.

[N0WVA]

Im always "leary" of these types of comments for fear they be posturing or trying to mold amateur radio into something we dont want. Do these people really have enough of a clue to be making representative statements?

[Sam KS2AM]

Lets raise our half empty glasses in toast as we search for that dark cloud that is behind every silver lining.   

[KA0HCP]

Yes I agree with the statement that Amateur Radio is the "Last Line of Defense" in the same way that 12 year old boys and 60 year old men were the last line of defense for Berlin! 

[Opcom]

That quote from FEMA will be useful later. The public does not focus on the positive very well so it's up to us to help that by taking statements like the  seriously. It's like currency and those things ought to be archived. I'm not judging the intent or hidden meanings in it, just stacking it at face value for what the words say and who said them.

[k4kyv]

Speaking of FEMA... if you think local zoning laws and HOA rules banning antennas are outrageous, how about this: single-wide mobile homes, such as the temporary ones provided by FEMA, are illegal in the city of Cordova, and the city refuses to temporarily suspend the ban to allow shelter for homeless tornado victims.

The city’s refusal to let homeless residents occupy temporary housing has sparked outrage in this central Alabama town of 2,000, with angry citizens filling a meeting last week and circulating petitions to remove the mayor, whom many blame for the decision.

Town's ban on FEMA trailers has tornado victims outraged

[WA1GFZ]

Local TV claims Springfield Tornado scoop reported by a ham to them.