There’s been a lot of talk on podcasts and on the ARRL website about the situation in Puerto Rico. I got somewhat interested in what happened there when Jeremy, NS0S, posted a somewhat inflammatory post on reddit (since deleted) about his experiences there with the ARRL “Force of Fifty.”
I tweeted about that post and was counseled by hams smarter than me that perhaps I should wait before blogging about this. That was good advice. One reason for this is that it would take an awful lot of work—more than I usually do for a blog post here on KB6NU.Com—to do it right. And, others have already done a great job covering this story. For example, the best coverage of this that I’ve seen is Ham Radio Now #359.
My takeaway from that video (and the original reddit post) is that neither the Red Cross nor the ARRL (nor the Puerto Rican authorities) were really prepared for the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico. That being the case, mistakes—understandably—were made, probably by everyone involved. It sounds like it was complete chaos, and while the effort may not have always produced the desired result, I don’t know that you can—or want to—personally blame anyone involved. Also, it’s arguable whether you can ever be truly prepared for a disaster like this.
Instead of playing the blame game, I hope the powers that be will take a good, hard look at what went on in Puerto Rico, and take steps to do better in the future. For example, it might be worthwhile to establish a database of pre-qualified emcomm volunteers before the next disaster. If the ARRL/Red Cross had had such a database, they could have found the hams they could have done a better job of vetting volunteers in a shorter period of time. In addition to listing a ham’s technical skills, it would also include related skills, such as the ability to speak Spanish. With this kind of information, whoever was forming the team would have a big jump on recruiting team members.
If we are going to make such a big deal about amateur radio’s usefulness in emergency communications, we really have to be serious about it. If nothing else, I think that this incident has shown that we need to get more serious about it than we currently are. I hope that we can do better the next time and the time after that and the time after that…
As a start, Jeremy, NS0S, has posted the Redditnet Guide to Extreme EmComm. He intends for this to be a community effort, and if you have any suggestions, he would be happy to hear from you.
Frank Howell says
I watched this episode of HRN with interest. There are two observations to this situation. Jeremy is not an “insider” to the League. His background doesn’t lend itself to the FUBAR situation over the ARES “who is in charge games”. And good for him! The second is that the League will NOT recognize the lack of organized leadership but will “out-PR” Jeremy’s account. They began this by inquiring if he needed mental health assssment. They’ve continued via the League website and eLetters to publicize vested agencies’ plaudits to ham radio but given to the ARRL.
James M. Hiney says
Please! The one place i flee to get away from PC, politics in general And BS is my beloved international brotherhood called Amateur Radio! Take it somewhere else! KE6YB
xxx says
Really Puerto Rico needs its own amateur radio emergency (well prepared) teams. Is dissapointing the too superficial response of the puerrorrican ARES/RACES to this emergency…
James M. Hiney says
Oh If I’m not in the database, I intend to fix that boo boo ASAP. This year!
James M. Hiney says
I am NOT anti ARRL! They may need to use their Our influence to keep this hobby alive yet again!
John Wright, K6CPO says
I recently saw a presentation by another ham that made the trip to Puerto Rico and his take was very different. It was positive and upbeat. I think NS0S’s observation of the situation was colored by his first responder/EMT experience and he may have gone “off mission” a bit.
The next disaster is in the making. As I write this, Hurricane Florence is making landfall in the Carolinas. It remains to be seen how the response to this event plays out.