Navy-Marine Corps Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS)

PROUDLY SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE!

Brief forRegion EM Review Committee

San Diego, CaPresented by

ITC(SW) Thomason/Frank RattyDirector, Navy-Marine Corps MARS Pacific Area

23 September2005

Preview

Brief History of MARS Mission and Functions Organization and Pacific Area HQ Equipment and Installation Training Current Projects

Brief History of Navy-Marine Corps MARS

Navy‑Marine Corps MARS authorized on 17 August 1962 by the Secretary of the Navy.

Implemented on 1 January 1963. DoD Directive issued on 30 November 1968 directing

each service to establish a MARS program.   DoD Directive 4650.2 of January 26, 1998 is the

current directive. The directive sets forth policies concerning DoD

support of both MARS and civil Amateur Radio activities.

MARS Mission and Major Functions

Mission: “Provide DON and DOD emergency communications on local, national, and international basis as an adjunct to normal naval communications.”

Major Functions:– Provide auxiliary communications to military, federal or

civil disaster officials during emergencies.

– Assist in effecting normal naval communications under emergency conditions.

– Handle morale and quasi-official record and voice communications traffic for authorized personnel.

NAVMARCORMARS Organization

N A T IO N A L V O LU N T E E R S T A FF

F R E Q U E N C Y M A N A G E RIT 1 (S W ) M u rp hy

R e g io n O N E D ire c to rM r. B o b V e th

R e g io n T W O D ire c to rM r. D o u g H a ll

R e g io n T H R E E D ire c to rD r. F ran k B arra n co

V o lu n te e rs

N O R T H E A S T A R E A D IR E C T O RM r. B ill F re ile r, A c ting

B ille t ga p p ed U FN

R e g io n F O U R D ire c to rM r. C urt is W e th e rin g ton

R e g io n F IV E D ire c to rM r. R og e r G ree n fie ld

V o lu n te e rs

C E N T R A L A R E A D IR E C T O RIT C (S W /A W ) Je ffries

M r. D a v e O u e lle tte , D e p u ty

R e g io n S IX D ire c to rM r. H a m H a m lin

R e g io n S E V E N D ire c to rM r. B o b C o n ley

V o lu n te e rs

S O U T H A R E A D IR E C T O RIT C (S W ) T E E T E R

M r. B ob C on le y, D e p u ty

R e g io n E IG H T D ire c to rM r. F ran k L am b e rt

R e g io n N IN E D ire c to rM r. E d O sb o rne

R e g io n T E N D ire c to rM r. P e te T hu n em

V o lu n te e rs

P A C IF IC A R E A D IR E C T O RIT C T H O M A S O N

M r. E d O sb o rne , D e p u ty

D E P U T Y C H IE F , N A V Y -M A R IN E C O R P S M A R SG a pp ed un til S ep tem be r 20 05

C H IE F , N A V Y -M A R IN E C O R P S M A R SM r. B o L ind fo rs

NORTHEAST AREA

Groton CT

NOASI

425 members

CENTRAL AREA

Great Lakes IL

NOASG

616 members

SOUTH AREA

Corpus Christi TX

NOASF

287 members

PACIFIC AREA

San Diego CA

NOASE

384 members

New Areas and Regions

MARS Headquarters

Located at Building 1 since 1979.

The old Navy District HQ.

MARS setup to match the Naval District Organization.

Quarterly Participation

AREA MBRS MSGSMSGS/

MBR

PARTICIPATION

HOURS

HOURS/

MBR

Northeast 430 2712 6.3 17209 40.0

South 279 3182 11.4 11814 42.3

Central 602 4463 7.4 23886 39.7

Pacific 375 8444 22.5 20851 55.6

Age of Members

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

18 28 38 48 58 68 78 88 98

Ages

Average Age

Member License Classes

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Technician General Advanced Extra

Per

cen

t NMCMARS

Amateur

Equipment and Installation

HF Station Components

Antennas

Transceivers

Auxiliary equipment

Training

Use of Equipment

Operating Manual

MARS Personnel in Setup and Operation

Recent Major Emergency Communication Exercises

Bad Bug 2000 – Joint MARS Exercise Y2K preparation (December 1999).

J-REX 2000 – Multi-agency terrorism exercise involving 12 states, deployment of 4 Auxiliary Radio Teams (October 2000).

Grecian Firebolt ’01, ’02, ’03 and ’04 – Tri-service MARS exercises with National Guard and other military units.

Actual Disasters/Emergencies 2001 Washington earthquakes 2001 - 2004 western states wildfires 9-11-2001 Terrorist attacks Numerous Essential Elements of Information

(EEI) messages submitted to DOMS on continuing basis.

Region 7 ECOM net active 24/7 to support MARS and SHARES Agencies.

Hurricane Isabel – 2003 4 Florida hurricanes of 2004

Was Your Generator Ready for This?

Or This?

Current Activities

USS Midway

Regional Operations Center (ROC)

Mobile Communications Unit (MCU)

Satellite Stations

Questions ?