Events & News!

BCARES participated in the yearly SET exercise conducting simulated emergency radio operations in Boone County, Missouri involving simulated damage from a series of tornadoes. This year’s exercise was held on November 4, 2023.

The exercise employed twenty-five operators deployed to nine sites in the county. Among the operators eighteen were Winlink capable and thirteen were APRS enabled.

A Net Control station located in the Boone County Joint Communications (BCJC) center was established at the start of the exercise and was responsible for passing radio messages to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located in the same building and the BCJC.

Working in conjunction with six Red Cross sites and a site at the MU Health Center, the Boone Health Center, and the Boone Humane Society, BCARES operators passed numerous voice messages as well as Winlink messages to Net Control. In total, thirty-six Winlink ICS 213 messages were transmitted and received in 1 hour 46 minutes. Of these, nine were by Winlink Peer-Peer sessions, two were by voice. One picture was received and two ICS 213s were sent after the net was closed. Two ICS 213s were sent to Red Cross HQ in St. Louis, and two replies were received, all on the Winlink system.