Appointment comes within days of 75th anniversary of emergency service by Ham Radio operators
By Joshua Carroll, N5JLC - Arkansas Section Public Information Coordinator
Arkansas Section Manager J.M. Rowe, N5XFW, announced today the appointment of John Goswick, W5JLG as the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) for the Arkansas Section of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) - the national association for Amateur Radio. In this position Goswick will be responsible to take care of all matters pertaining to emergency communications and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) on a statewide basis. The SEC post is one of top importance in the section. There is only one SEC appointed in each section of the ARRL Field Organization.
Rowe said, "I know he is very capable of meeting this challenge, and I look forward to working with him. John is exceptionally clear minded in his thinking, and is not influenced by politics. He understands that we're here to help our served agencies, such as the American Red Cross and emergency management offices all over the state. He's already heavily involved in emergency communications, so he's well prepared to serve in this position."
Goswick already serves as the State Emergency Operations Officer for the Army Military Auxiliary Radio System. He is also the president of the Central Arkansas UHF Group, an organization of amateur radio enthusiasts that, according to their web site, is dedicated to supporting state-wide communications on amateur radio frequencies for emergency communications and education.
"I look at it as a challenge to be in this position. I'm very interested in emergency communications and helping ham radio operators in the state to be prepared for the next emergency," said Goswick.
Goswick holds a Master's degree in Information Technology from the University of Central Arkansas, and a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Management from John Brown University. He has also received communications training from the American Radio Relay League and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Most recently, he has completed the Department of Homeland Security's Communications Unit Leader (COML) course, which trains emergency responders to be communications unit leaders during all-hazards emergency operations. Additionally, he has completed training to become a COML instructor.
This appointment comes only days before the 75th anniversary of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. This program of the ARRL has provided “ham radio” emergency communications for agencies such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, countless Emergency Operations Centers and other responders in the worst of times. In events from ice storms to Hurricane Katrina and Haiti, when normal communications systems were down or overloaded, the Amateur Radio operators of the ARES program filled requests for communications aid. Over the years the program name and equipment has changed but the vision remains. The modern communications nets that ARES can quickly create to blanket whole regions - without the need for other infrastructure - remain critical in emergency planning. In the first hours and days of a major event, Amateur Radio is often the source of initial information on the type, scope and reactions needed to save lives. Recognition of this capability led to formal agreements with DHS, FEMA, NOAA and other federal, state and local agencies.
More information about the duties of the Section Emergency Coordinator is available at http://www.arrl.org/section-emergency-coordinator.
Background information about the American Radio Relay League and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service can be found at http://ar.arrl.org/p/public-information-branch.html.
There is additional information concerning the 75th anniversary of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service at http://www.arrl.org/ares-anniversary.
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