Posted this Christmas Eve on the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) web site:
MARS Gets New Name As It Fine Tunes
Mission
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.
The DoD defines a "military auxiliary" as
"an organized body of volunteers prepared to supplement the uniformed
services or any designated civilian authorities by provision of specialized
autonomous services when called upon or when situations warrant," and
gives the Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard Auxiliary as examples of
auxiliaries.
In the past, MARS had focused primarily on emergency communications and health
and welfare support. The DoD's Instruction now
directs the three MARS services to provide "contingency radio
communications" to support US government operations, DoD
components and "civil authorities at all levels," providing for
national security and emergency preparedness events. MARS units will still
continue to provide health and welfare communications support "to military
members, civilian employees and contractors of DoD
Components, and civil agency employees and contractors, when in remote or
isolated areas, in contingencies or whenever appropriate." MARS must also
be capable of operation in "radio only" modes -- without landlines or
the Internet -- and sustainable on emergency power (when public utility power
has failed); some MARS stations must be transportable for timely deployment.
The Instruction, however, does not mention which of the three MARS
services will take the lead when responding to events. According to sources,
this has been seen as a critical issue in conforming to the National Incident
Management System (NIMS) that calls for "unity of command." As now
constituted, the three separate MARS services are supposed do
"interoperate," but command-wise, each operates independently. Some
MARS members had urged clarification on this issue to avoid confusion during an
emergency, sources said.
The Secretaries of the Army, Air Force and Navy are to encourage participation
in MARS, the Instruction states, saying this may be accomplished
"by establishing and funding an active MARS program within each Military
Department, which shall then assign a MARS-licensed staff representative to
manage operations, readiness, planning, procedural and technical development,
documentation, standards, training, equipment, program and membership
administration, and other matters necessary for mission accomplishment."
The Secretaries are also tasked with bringing new personnel into their MARS
services. The Instruction calls on them to establish programs "to
promote civilian interest, recruit qualified volunteers, sponsor them for basic
background checks and furnish them suitable training in contingency support
communications."
The Instruction also dictates that MARS leaders will now report to three
DoD officials; before this
revision, they only reported to one person. The Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Homeland Security and Americas Security Affairs (ASD [HD&ASA]) now has
primary responsibility for the MARS Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA)
mission. In addition, MARS leaders will report to the Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Networks and Information Integration/DoD Chief
Information Officer (ASD[NII]/DoD
CIO) and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material
Readiness (ASD[L&MR]). In the 1998 charter, oversight of MARS was assigned
to a single top official, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command,
Control, Communications and Intelligence.
This revision -- which was years in the making -- keeps the Navy/Marine Corps
MARS intact; until now, members of this MARS service were concerned that their
part of MARS might be terminated by Navy commanders.
The Instruction also gives some new perks to MARS members. Active duty
military personnel who are affiliated with MARS may be able to earn Reserve
points based on service in MARS and, in cases of permanent change of station,
qualify for weight exemption for transportation of MARS communications
equipment. 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.
Membership in any of the three MARS services is open to qualified active duty,
Guard and Reserve personnel, as well as those in civilian agencies who report
to civil authorities or their supporting organizations (including
nongovernmental organizations) and private US citizens who meet age, education
and other criteria -- such as an FCC-issued Amateur Radio license -- imposed by
a DoD Component MARS office.
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