Communicator

The Communicator — Fall 2013 Issue
Ex Field Day 22 &23 June 2013
By Capt. Ric Rangel-Bron
On the
weekend
of 22 & 23
June
2013, 32
Signal
Regt participated
in Exercise
Field
Day, with
Exercise
locations
in Toronto and York Region. "Field Day" is an annual
international civilian amateur radio exercise run by
the National Amateur Radio Association that encourages
emergency communications preparedness
amongst amateur radio operators in Canada and the
United States. The intent of this exercise is to have
amateur radio operators practice the rapid deployment
and operation of radio communications equipment
in environments ranging from "under canvas"
(tents) in remote areas to Emergency Operations
Centres operated by Civil Authority.
The Toronto Amateur Radio Club (TARC) and the
success of any military deployment, sovereignty operations
in Canada's arctic, or domestic operations
in central Ontario or beyond. This mandate further
extends to aid civil authority in the event of a domestic
civil emergency when requested. Together,
with 32 Sigs providing logistical, operational and
security support to the two field deployment sites,
the opportunity for the Toronto and York Region
Amateur Radio Clubs to conduct their exercise, integrating
with the troops and equipment resources
of 32 Sigs, was a resounding success - especially
since the majority of the Exercise was under harsh
environmental conditions in Toronto where it rained
heavily for over 60% of the weekend.
That said, some 600 communication "contacts"
were made by the TARC group and 1,234
"contacts" by the York Region group. In Toronto,
our "field" deployment was in Coronation Park,
proximal to the sports field and running
tracks. Over the duration of the weekend, over 100
citizens toured the site, some taking the opportunity
to operate the HAM radio to speak with another sta-
York Region Amateur Radio Club play a key roles in
the event of civil emergency as member agencies
providing on-site support to the Toronto Office Of
Emergency Management and the York Region Office
of Emergency Management respectively. As
part of Canada's Army Reserve, 32 Sigs mandate is
to provide effective communications critical to the
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