Emergency Communication, ECom, is an opportunity to
provide the public service community with trained Amateur Radio operators who will have a consistent level of expertise in Emergency Communication no matter where in Malaysia they live.
It is evident that there are areas in the Malaysia that have few opportunities to train operators in disaster communication. This program will provide consistency in technical training where ever the person lives. The added benefit comes in that it will be easier to ensure the students understand the attitudes necessary to interface with the public service community in a manner which is beneficial to all.
There are many personality types in Amateur Radio, some of which lack the necessary knowledge to participate in a positive manner. These people simply need guidance and assistance to understand what the position of Amateur Radio is in public service.
The goal of ADEC JOHOR is to provide consistently knowledgeable communication people who have a very positive, service oriented attitude.
Attitude:
Please note there are 2 questions on the first EmComm test that are related to attitude. You MUST answer them BOTH CORRECTLY in order to pass the test!
Before you begin the technical material involved in learning about Emergency Communication (ECom) it is imperative that you understand your knowledge in ECom is not actually as important as your attitude, during emergencies.
Yes, technical ability will enable you to do a far better job of communicating. But your attitude will determine the success of the overall Amateur Radio effort. The person who brings a "know it all" or "Cowboy" attitude will only hamper relations with served agencies.
The people you will be serving - remember that word - are professionals that have seen far too many people more interested in impressing someone than in getting the job done. You will actually impress them far more by being as quiet as you can and doing your job well. Results, without interference of served agency people, will cement relations with your served agency.
Simply stated, ECom requires an explicit mental commitment to help others. Please read that again. A commitment to help others. To be effective in ECom you will be required to expend significant effort and time in training and practice. Many say "I did that before, so I don't need to practice". This is not true. It will take time a lot of time, if you are to be successful. If you are willing to spend that time, WELCOME!
Hams are patriotic, independent people and they are volunteers. The attitude among a few hams is that 'Volunteers don't have to take orders.' That's absolutely correct. We don't have to take orders. But if you are not ready to follow instructions, you may want to do something outside of ADEC.
By the way…Do not adjust, play with or fiddle with any piece of equipment in use for an event, during that event, unless it is malfunctioning. Remember, and incident scene is not about radios and being a Ham, it’s about the incident and YOU will either be part of the problem or part of the solution
What is a Communications Emergency?
The easiest way to think about a communications emergency is to begin by using the definitions used in the Incident Command System (ICS) (see the ICS Overview]. "We will define an incident as any planned or unplanned occurrence or event, regardless of cause, which requires action by emergency service personnel to prevent or minimize loss of life or damage to property and/or natural resources."
We can see that during a large scale event it would be possible to have enough information (traffic) flow that the emergency service communications could become overloaded to a level that it would fail to function as required by the incident.
What defines a communications emergency?
When normal communications processes are inadequate to handle the information flow required to service an incident as defined in the ICS
What role does Amateur Radio serve?
Our primary role is to support the emergency management community (responders, relief and recovery agencies) with communications during times of emergency and disaster when normal communications are unavailable or overwhelmed.
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