| Total number of ARES members | 1094 | Change since last month | Increase |
| DECs reporting this month | 15 out of 15 Call Signs |
ARES nets active | 216 sessions in 35 nets |
| ECs reporting this month | 50 out of 71 Call signs |
Nets with NTS Liaison | most nets from 37 liaison stations |
| Number of Drills, tests and training sessions this month | 66 | Person hours | 796 |
| Number of Public service events this month | 27 | Person hours | 1486 |
| Number of Emergency operations this month | 2 | Person hours | 12 |
| Total number of ARES operations this month | 95 | Person hours | 2283 |
Comments
October 2006, saw lots of varied activity in the Virginia Section. We welcome Chris Hanslits W4VX, as the new DEC for District 10. Chris brings a working group in District 10 to ARES that already enjoys a good relationship with their local Emergency Management structures. They already have equipment in place to support their local EM operations as well as shelter communications.
Results from Section SETS are still coming in. SETS have been completed in District 03, 06, and 09 and the reports are just coming in for those activities. In addition, we are pleased to report the first Section-wide HF SET took place on October 16, with a good representation from around the Section. Many stations participating made a special effort to operate using battery or generator power, and thanks go out to all those who checked-in and in particular for the vision shown by Emmett Price K3EP NM for the ODEN for making this SET happen.
Many jurisdictions reported ongoing meetings between local ARES leaders and their local Emergency Management officials. These interactions are so important as they form the solid backbone upon which to build the understanding and confidence that needs to exist for Emergency Management to make good use of our time, experience and capabilities.
Local jurisdictions participated in a variety of Public Service events in October. Notable among these were District 04 support of the Cannonball Century Bike Event, District 07 support of 3 PS events in Newport News, including the Annual NN Employees picnic, District 08 support of the Harvest Festival and the Alzheimer’s Walk, District 09 support of the Walk for Hope and Suffolk Driver Fall Fest, District 13 support of the Brush Mt. Breakdown half marathon and the Rowdy Dawg mountain bike race. The main public service participation kudos of the month must go to District 02 in supporting the 29th Marine Corps Marathon. This event relied on a total of 116 Amateur Radio operators distributed among 8 voice nets. In addition to the usual race and medical communications, APRS was used to track the race leader, the rear vehicle and other support vehicles. A 1.2 GHz D-Star network was used to track and report injuries. Howard WD5DBC DEC of District 02 reported that the D-Star system was worth the extra effort and will probably replace packet radio next year.
Many jurisdictions reported participation in the state-wide “Fluex-06” exercise conducted by the VA Department of Health and local hospitals. While this pandemic flu event was a table-top exercise, it provided ample opportunity for local ARES members to participate in a peripheral manner. As part of this exercise, a number of localities made contact with Bill Webb, K8BW who is the Amateur Radio Liaison with the VA Health Department. We look for future exercises with Bill to continue to refine the ability of each jurisdiction to provide reliable communications with Richmond.
Williamsburg / James City was alerted of an incident at the Surry Nuclear Power Plant resulting from a heavy “nor’easter” with a request for ARES / RACES response. After a determination that the incident was not critical with respect to human health or radiation exposure, the activation was cancelled. Many thanks go to those Amateurs who responded.
Signed: Dave Damon K4DND November 13, 2006
ASEC and DEC District 03
On behalf of: Henry Wyatt K4YCR
SEC Virginia Section