11.NWS Gray EMCOMM Orgs Rel
11. Relationship with Other EMCOMM Organizations
Policy Introduction
EMCOMM Leadership Members in SKYWARN Leadership Rolesn
Guidelines for Third Party EMCOMM Teams Supporting SKYWARN
Prevailing Policies and Procedures
SKYWARN Support of Third Party EMCOMM Teams
Third Party EMCOMM Team Sponsorship of SKYWARN Nets
SKYWARN Communications Channels
11. Relationship with Other EMCOMM Organizations
11.1. Policy Introduction
By design, the team operates as a volunteer extension of the National Weather Service Gray WFO, aligned with the SKYWARN storm spotter network. It is operationally independent of any other amateur radio organization, meaning its leadership team, policies, and procedures are determined by SKYWARN team leadership and NWS personnel, rather than by any other entity. Still, the long-term success of SKYWARN depends on its ability to interact and integrate with other amateur radio organizations throughout the CWA, including:
Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES)
The Wireless Society of Southern Maine Emergency Communications Team (WSSM-ECT), which serves the Cumberland County EMA.
Individual amateur radio clubs and service groups within the CWA.
These organizations will be collectively referred to as Third Party EMCOMM Teams in this chapter.
11.2. EMCOMM Leadership Members in SKYWARN Leadership Roles
This Operations Manual has policies in place which regulate the appointment of other EMCOMM teams’ officials to SKYWARN leadership roles. These policies are included in the “4. SKYWARN Roles” chapter of the Operations Manual (page 8), and generally preclude Third Party EMCOMM Team leadership officials from holding a long-term appointment as a SKYWARN Area Manager or higher. Leadership roles which function primarily in an administrative capacity are exempt from these policies.
There are provisions for the installation of SKYWARN Net Managers in certain circumstances. Where a SKYWARN net is comprised primarily of members of a Third Party EMCOMM Team, it may be beneficial to utilize a Third Party EMCOMM Team leadership official in the SKYWARN Net Manager role. Nothing in this policy prevents a Third Party EMCOMM Team leadership official from serving in a Net Manager role.
Non-leadership members of Third Party EMCOMM Teams are welcome to participate at any level of SKYWARN, including at the leadership level, provided that their involvement in a Third Party EMCOMM Team does not adversely impact their ability to serve SKYWARN, and vice-versa.
11.3. Guidelines for Third Party EMCOMM Teams Supporting SKYWARN
Third Party EMCOMM Teams are encouraged to support SKYWARN by encouraging team members to become a SKYWARN Net Control Operator or Responder.
SKYWARN provides an excellent opportunity for Third Party EMCOMM Team members to keep their communications skills sharp by frequently activating nets and participating in other on-air exercises. In some instances, a local net may be comprised almost entirely of Third Party EMCOMM Team members.
The key points that need to be understood by both SKYWARN and supporting Third Party EMCOMM Teams are:
Third Party EMCOMM Team members who volunteer to become SKYWARN Net Control Operators will be trained on SKYWARN policies and procedures and will be expected to fully comply. This includes provisions requiring collection of reports from all areas (not just the area that the Third Party EMCOMM Team usually serves). See Third Party EMCOMM Team Sponsorship of SKYWARN Nets on page 50 for further discussion.
Third Party EMCOMM Teams do not activate SKYWARN. SKYWARN/NWS does. However, individual trained SKYWARN Net Control Operators have the authority to self-activate as local conditions warrant, and Third Party EMCOMM Team members may exercise this option at any time.
SKYWARN and Third Party EMCOMM Teams are two operationally separate programs which may utilize a common pool of volunteers. These are important distinctions which must be considered when defining the role of Third Party EMCOMM Teams in support of SKYWARN activities.
11.3.1. Prevailing Policies and Procedures
Third Party EMCOMM Team members serving SKYWARN as a Net Control Operator, Responder, or Net Manager are acting as SKYWARN amateur radio team members, and all policies and procedures of the SKYWARN amateur radio team are in effect.
These team members answer to the SKYWARN Leadership Team during SKYWARN activations, for matters involving SKYWARN operations.
Third Party EMCOMM Teams supporting SKYWARN are discouraged from making SKYWARN Team membership mandatory or automatic. Guidelines for Third Party EMCOMM Teams supporting SKYWARN Team members should be free to decide whether they want to extend their roles to support SKYWARN as a Net Control.
11.3.2. SKYWARN Support of Third Party EMCOMM Teams
The SKYWARN amateur radio team will support our Third Party EMCOMM Team partners by advocating for Spotter training opportunities, providing outreach presentations, and offering amateur radio related SKYWARN presentations, either as one-off activities or on-going features of Third Party EMCOMM Team training operations.
These activities must be open to participation by any amateur radio operator, regardless of Third Party EMCOMM Team membership. The SKYWARN team will work with Third Party EMCOMM Team partners to provide access to data on dual-enrollment team members and the activities they perform for the SKYWARN team. This may include:
Providing certain Third Party EMCOMM Team leadership officials with access to SKYWARN net reporting forms.
Providing Third Party EMCOMM Team leadership officials with the details of a member's activity with SKYWARN (whether or not and how often the team member is participating, the number of reports taken, etc.) for purposes of gauging a member's activity level and training needs.
Assisting with retrieval of Spotter training status and date(s) for any Third Party EMCOMM Team member who received Spotter training in the NWS Gray County Warning Area during the past several years. The SKYWARN team will also activate the SKYWARN Radio Desk (WX1GYX) at NWS Gray where sufficient notice and staffing availability permit, in support of Third Party EMCOMM Team drills, communications tests, and other similar activities. These requests should be routed to the Amateur Radio Coordinator at least 45 days in advance, and will be honored on a best effort basis. Where adequate notice was given, but the amateur radio team was not able to provide staffing to activate the SKYWARN Radio Desk, arrangements will be made to grant radio desk access to Third Party EMCOMM Team members for purposes of completing the drill, test, or other activity.
11.3.3. Third Party EMCOMM Team Sponsorship of SKYWARN Nets
A Third Party EMCOMM Team may elect to support SKYWARN amateur radio operations by encouraging its team members to become trained SKYWARN Net Control Operators. This effort may extend into supporting the operation of a local SKYWARN net.
SKYWARN is divided into different Operating Areas. Each Operating Area is served by one primary SKYWARN net. Some Operating Areas may additionally be served by one or more smaller, more localized subnets. Local ARES teams, generally divided at the county level, may want to support a localized subnet that focuses on that one locality.
Part of the reason NWS Gray insists on maintaining some separation between SKYWARN and Third Party EMCOMM Teams is to ensure that SKYWARN amateur radio team members are serving the interests of the National Weather Service. This ties into the team's policy of ensuring the primary SKYWARN net is staffed first before any nearby subnets, since most Spotters will turn to the primary net as a venue for calling in reports and the team must utilize its volunteer resources in a manner which provides the greatest “return on investment.”
Third Party EMCOMM Teams cannot give preference to activating only their local subnet. Just as any other SKYWARN Net Control Operator must be willing to serve any SKYWARN net he or she can reach via radio, the same is expected of Third Party EMCOMM Team members serving as SKYWARN Net Control.
The SKYWARN Area Manager will coordinate net activations and deployment of Net Control Operator resources for both the primary net and any local subnets, including those which are sponsored by Third Party EMCOMM Teams.
11.3.4. SKYWARN Communications Channels
The team has made substantial investment in its electronic communications infrastructure to ensure timely and efficient communication of activations and resource requests to all team members.
Third Party EMCOMM Teams which sponsor SKYWARN operations will be included in e-mail communications operated by the SKYWARN amateur radio team, for the purposes of communicating activation requests and other SKYWARN-related information.
An updated roster of Third Party EMCOMM Team members, who regularly participate in SKYWARN activities, should be provided annually to SKYWARN leadership.