North American Communications Drill

Members of the Westfield Emergency Management Communications section participated in a American and Canadian emergency communications drill over a twenty-four hour period on June 26th and 27th.  Sponsored by the American Radio Relay League, the annual drill known as the ARRL Field Day, involves thousands of Amateur Radio Operators (Ham Radio) from North America.

The WEMA Communications members demonstrated the ability to communicate over a vast area in the event of an emergency.  The radio operators succeeded in making hundreds of contacts with forty-eight defined States, Provinces or areas (colored areas in the map).  The group, consisting of three amateur radio operators leveraged the amateur radio equipment available at the Westfield Emergency Operations Center and a variety of amateur frequencies to make these contacts.  The areas not contacted could easily have been communicated with relay stations if needed during an emergency.