• Thad Hicks

SATERN Participates in Nationwide Emergency Radio Exercise

Pelahatchie, MS (June 27, 2015) - The Salvation Army SATERN Team for the ALM Division participated in an emergency radio exercise / contest called Field Day this past weekend in Pelahatchie, Mississippi. The goals of Field Day are for individual amateur radio operators and amateur radio clubs around the country to mobilize and set up their emergency communications equipment, and use that equipment to talk to as many other similar stations as possible within a 24 hour period of time and then demobilize that same equipment.

The Salvation Army partnered with 4 amateur radio clubs from around the Jackson, MS, metro area for this year’s Field Day.  It is the first time these 5 organizations have partnered for an event.  Besides The Salvation Army / SATERN, the other organizations were the Jackson Amateurs Radio Club (JARC), the Vicksburg Amateur Radio Club (VARC), the Central Mississippi Amateur Radio Association (CMARA) and the Scott County Amateur Radio Club (SCARC).  The Field Day effort was also supported with mobile radio towers from the Mississippi Department of Health (MDH) and the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT).

The Salvation Army deployed the Southern Territorial Satellite-Radio Communications Trailer and 2 office trailers.  One office trailer was used for additional radio operating positions and the other was used as a place for people to cool off during the very hot days and to sleep at night.  The Salvation Army also provided much of the needed logistics including a generator, water, coolers, cots and additional radio equipment and computers. 

ALM Interagency Liaison and Territorial SATERN Coordinator Bill Feist, stated, "These are going to be the men and women we work with in the case of a major event."  Bill added, “These gatherings allow us to see what everybody brings to the table, and what will make us stronger the next time we have an emergency.  Although this was only an exercise, this same kind of operation was deployed ten years ago on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina." 

Field Day is organized and sponsored by the national amateur radio association, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). 

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter for the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. Eighty-two cents of every dollar The Salvation Army spends is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org.