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ARLB050 Emergency Communications Training to Begin September 1

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ARRL Bulletin 50  ARLB050
From ARRL Headquarters 
Newington CT  August 16, 2002
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB050
ARLB050 Emergency Communications Training to Begin September 1

Amateur Radio emergency communications training supported by a
$181,900 federal homeland security grant will begin within a few
weeks. The League was among several dozen nonprofit organizations
designated to receive some $10.3 million in federal money to boost
homeland defense volunteer programs. During its first year, the
grant--from the Corporation for National and Community Service
special volunteer program--will reimburse the cost of Level I ARRL
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course training for up to
1700 volunteers.

ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, says the national
program will begin September 1 with the recruitment of at least 200
additional mentors and trainers. These volunteers then will help to
manage and train the student load during the first year of the
grant. Hobart and Dan Miller, K3UFG--formerly ARRL Certification and
Continuing Education Program Coordinator and now the Emergency
Communications Course Manager--have been working with CNCS to
expedite the grant details.

This week, ARRL section managers were asked to recommend up to five
students to sign up to take the Level I Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications on-line course. These individuals also will receive
additional training to become instructors and mentors. Hobart
pointed out that additional mentors and instructors will be needed
to help handle the expected volume of students training under the
grant program. Anyone who has already completed the Level I course
is qualified to become a mentor with some additional training.
Mentor candidates should contact Dan Miller, k3ufg@arrl.org, for
information on how to take part.

Once the ARRL members hand-picked by section managers to train as
mentors have completed the program, registration for routine Level I
training will open October 1, initially for ARRL field appointees.
Miller anticipates that the program will continue to handle
approximately 200 students per month. ''As much as we'd like to, we
can't train everyone at once,'' he said. ''Please be patient.''

To comply with grant requirements, the ARRL also will survey served
agencies and certain segments of the amateur population. Hobart said
the League wants to ensure that the course offered accurately
represents ''what really happens in the field'' during an emergency
or disaster.

Students taking advantage of Level I emergency communications
training under the grant program will be asked to pay for the course
via credit card during the registration process. Level I course
candidates from Connecticut will continue to be trained under a
$33,000 grant from United Technologies Corporation to expand Amateur
Radio emergency communications training opportunities. Upon
successfully completing the training and certification, students
will be reimbursed the $45 fee.