Paul Smith

KNW-172Conducting A Threat Needs Assessment KJ5EMP FOR NW HARRIS COUNTY ARESRevised 12/2021 In the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, every Ranger holds a strong commitment to knowing the entirety of the mission for the whole unit for the whole operation, but additionally being physically, mentally, and morally prepared for any number of contingencies that might be … Read more

KNW-171Water Warnings & Purification by KJ Anderson, kj5empRevised 7/2021 Water is something that Americans rarely worry about but which makes national headlines from time to time when things go bad. The average human in good shape cannot last more than about three or four days without water yet, oddly enough, most large-scale disasters on the … Read more

KNW-170Harris County ARES Info Resources Written by KD5U 16MAY2021Free for distribution for non-commercial use.Revised 5/2021 RESOURCES REVIEWTonight’s training is just a review of some ARES related information resources available to us and tips on how we might better stay in touch as a team and up to date on ARES activities. We sometimes receive questions … Read more

KNW-169Emergency Deployments…Its Not Just Talking On The Radio Written 02/2021 by Walt Sepaniac, N5TQ, Harris County TX ARES As ARES team members, we train in communications a lot: in weekly Nets and during Special Events and SETS in which we participate. This training provides us a wealth of valuable skills which we rely upon as … Read more

KNW-168Repeater Etiquette And Insights Harris County Texas ARES, written by David Underwood, WB5HJVand Linda Kangas, W5LDK in collaboration withWayne Wright, KA5QDG and Lance Rumfield, WD5XRevised 12/2020 Technical repeater insights Repeater etiquette That concludes tonight’s training. Are there any questions, comments or suggested additions to this material? Thanks, this is (callsign) clear to net control. Send … Read more

KNW-167Where Do We Fit In An ICS Structure? Where DO we fit in ICS? We fit nowhere in the organization until asked. There is no position within the ICS for “walk-on” operators! If you wish to help in any event, contact your local ARES Emergency Coordinator and volunteer with that person. If you’re needed, they’ll … Read more

KNW-165ICS Resources and Facilities Written by kb5pgy ICS Resources and FacilitiesThis week will be my last week in covering ICS fundamentals. I will be covering both the categories of resources available in ICS and the types of facilities available in ICS. I will also cover mobilization. Resources are grouped according to how they are deployed … Read more

KNW-164ICS Organizational Structure Written by KB5PGY Last week, I went over the basics of ICS. This week, I will describe the basic organizational structure of ICS. ICS is a modular organization that is based on the size and complexity of the incident. By definition, any ICS has an Incident Commander. The Incident Commander is ultimately … Read more

KNW-174Reporting Our Hours by Paul Smith, K5PRSOct 2, 2022 You know the old saying, “The job isn’t finished until the paperwork is done.” Did you know that we are STRONGLY requested not only to participate regularly in nets, exercises, public service events, trainings, etc. but to maintain logs, to fill out forms, to provide feedback … Read more

KNW-163Basics of ICS Written by kb5pgy and based on the FEMA ICS-100 on-line course. IntroductionThere has been considerable debate about the new requirements for Incident Command System (ICS) certification for all personnel responding to emergencies. Some of the comments I have seen are of the theme of “Why should I have to learn yet another … Read more