DOD Contingency Communications Exercise; COMEX 17-3

The third quarterly national DOD contingency communications exercise COMEX 17-3 will take place July 23-27, 2017. One component of these exercises is using Amateur Radio to collect information about critical infrastructure and facilities  (power, transportation, communication, sanitation, medical, etc) in every county in the US. MARS stations will be active on the ham bands (using their Amateur call signs except on 60 Meters where they will use their MARS call signs) soliciting information. 

Please make an effort to contact one or more MARS operators dring this COMEX.  Contacts are not limited to ARES/RACES members. MARS operators are looking for contact with any ham radio operator. However this would be an execllent opportunity to set up a local ARES net as would be active in a large scale emergency or disaster situation.

Please note that while you you can make up any scenario and report simulated conditions for your local exercise, MARS operators will be collecting actual condition reports.  So unless there is actually a power outage, flooded roads, etc. you would report that all is well for the purposes of the national COMEX.

I intend to be available on the New York State Phone Traffic Emergency Net at 6 PM on 3925 at least a couple of times during the exercise period, and possibly other times and frequencies. If you would like to set up a specific time/frequency please contact me by email reply. Please check the nnyara.net web site and/or the Facebook page  (http://facebook.com/NNYARAhams)  and group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/NNYARA/ ) for updated schedule info. There are other MARS stations in and around NNY who will be on HF or local repeaters.

Pete Newell KC2WI

ARES Section Emergency Coordinator, Northern New York http://nnyara.net

Coordinator, Lewis County Emergency Coordinators Group http://lcecg.org

ARES EC / RACES RO, Lewis County

MARS - Military Auxiliary Radio System LMSC NNY - AFA2CQ