What Is EMCOMM?

Training tip for 4-26-06

Emergency communications (emcomm) is different from ordinary ham radio communications in several important ways:

Emcomm involves both hams and non-hams. A lot of third-party traffic is passed.

Emcomm happens in real time and messages can’t be delayed.

Emcomm may involve several nets at once.

Emcomm is unplanned and unscheduled; it often has to be organized on the fly.

Emcomm operators may need to interact with several key organizations simultaneously.

Emcomm stations are often portable, make-shift, and transient; they must be set up quickly and often moved.

Emcomm involves teamwork and not competition.

Emcomm operations may have no discernable end in sight and may last for several days until normal communications are restored.

Emcomm nets can expand or reduce their capacity in a very short time to meet the needs of the emergency.

The job you’re assigned will depend on the agency you serve as well as the nature of the emergency. You could be providing shelter communications for the American Red Cross, interagency communications for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, communications for the local hospital, search and rescue communications, Skywarn weather report communications for the National Weather Service, or any combination of the foregoing and lots of other scenarios.

While we’re all proud of our skills as ham radio operators, our equipment, and our capabilities, we should never lose sight of the fact that our job is to use the best method to communicate and the best method may not always be radio. For example if an agency requests a shelter supply list to be forwarded to headquarters and the fax is still working, that may be the best method to use. Our job is to get the message through using the best means possible, whether it’s ham radio, CB, Family Radio, GMRS, the telephone, fax, email, or the served agency’s radio system.