arrl is passing the request from the red cross for 50 operators with their gear go to puerto rico for three weeks to send back names for wellness reports. sounds like electricity and phone service is not going to be restored anytime soon. normally, and historically, in the past the navy and the army has sent people and equipment to get things running until some level of local services can be restored. and even if the government says they're doing what they can for that little island, there just probably won't be much improvement for months. this is what happens when a cat 5 washes your tropical paradise clean. especially if, like haiti, it was one big shanty town to start with.
with the arrl soliciting operators on behalf of the red cross, it looks like fema, and the military are not the first line of expertise going in. the dead give-away is they're not asking for mars mod radio equipment, just hf ssb and psk for winlink. and three weeks would only be the first wave if there is no plan b from other sources. i know fema can set up their own satellite link and provide cell, and internet for their own little cluster of first responders, but maybe they're already stretched thin and can't go either. i'm waiting for mountain house freeze dried foods to go into short supply. last time fema did something on a large scale, they contracted from mountain house their total output for a year. dried up everything.
not sure who is going to provide security for these volunteers. therein lies another contracting possibility. eric prince could not be contacted for comment.......
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