EMC294 RACES HISTORY 4
To:   Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
To:   Emergency Management Agencies via Internet and Radio
By:   Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the
      California Governor's Office of Emergency Services  

EMC294 RACES History 4                Felease 6/18/01

Subtitle: FCC and FEMA RACES Guidance

On Sept. 4, l979 the FCC issued a mimeograph letter titled
"Guidelines for developing Emergency Communications Plans
available from FCC". Three years later, 11/9/82, FEMA sent it
to State Directors of Civil Defense according to records in
the CA Office of Emergency Services. 

It read: "A local emergency support plan developed in Tacoma
Washington, and a state plan for Emergency Broadcast System (EBS)
developed in Connecticut, has been reviewed by the Amateur Radio
Service Subcommittee of the FCC's National Industry Advisory
Committee (NIAC) and are now available from the FCC's Emergency
Communications Division." 

"The NIAC subcommittee determined that a modified version could
serve as a GUIDE for development of similar plans elsewhere and
approved distribution of it and related developmental worksheets.

Spearheading the effort to enable the Amateur Radio Service to
improve its already significant assistance during emergencies
are: 
--The FCC, which establishes rules and procedures under which
segments of the communications industry voluntarily participate
in the EBS and other communications emergency plans.

--The Federal Emergency Management Agency which assists state and
local civil defense agencies with financial aid, policy guidance
and various emergency communications systems." 
(end of quote.)
____________
The decline of aid and guidance from FEMA and the FCC had already
begun as evidenced by that delay. It accelerated in the years that
followed. Over the decades FEMA has lacked money (or priority for
it) to update guidance the RACES.

That Tacoma Plan was languishing in the files at State OES when
Stan Harter was employed in l985 as the State RACES program
coordinator. He was tasked with bringing more FCC amateur
licensees into use by local governments. Based on his own years
of hands-on experience with RACES in Hawaii he knew what it took
to make ­ and keep ­ a RACES unit viable. He quickly realized the
lack of guidance, and started what became known as the "RACES
Bulletins" in l985 which continued as such until l994. In 1994
their focus changed to broader applications than just the RACES,
hence the EMCOMM Bulletins.

Stan knew the l979 Tacoma plan was out of date and inadequate.
Therefore, he developed a model RACES plan and updated it over
the next decade. He also created a guidance package on starting
and keeping a RACES unit. Called the "RACPAC", he provided it to
anyone on request. In the mid-1990's we made that into a manual
titled "Establishing and Maintaining a Emergency Communications
Unit". It is still available today, but it needs to be updated.

In view of this, in 1992, when FEMA sent out its 1991 reissue of
its CPG 1-15 based on a l979 Tacoma Plan, perhaps we can see why
Stan Harter was adamant that it was flawed guidance, long out of
date and quite archaic. He refused to use it in California. We
still have a copy of his statewide notice in our history file.
                           ---
Bulletins are on the ACS Web page: http://acs.oes.ca.gov/  - and a
FTP archive at ftp.ucsd.edu/emcomm   along with a Landline BBS at
916-262-0856 (graphical & standard interface). A direct email
subscription is available at http://www.harthaven.com/subscribe/
EOM