For the City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Local amateur radio operators recently participated in Wisconsin Emergency Management sponsored Department of Homeland Security AuxComm training in Madison.  Wood County Amateur Radio Emergency Services Assistant Emergency Coordinator Shelly Dorshorst of Port Edwards, Emergency Coordinator Mike Krohn of Wisconsin Rapids and Assistant Emergency Coordinators Tom Loock of Wisconsin Rapids, Myron Oestreich of Junction City, and Josh Wecker of Marshfield were among a team of amateurs that attended the training.

AuxComm was developed in the post-9/11 era as an opportunity to offer standardized training for licensed amateur radio operators to learn the finer points of working as communicators and assistants wherever needed in an Emergency Operations Center.

“We were excited that this training was sponsored by Wisconsin Emergency Management and seized the opportunity to attend.  This training was a chance to learn key skills that will help us to add to our abilities with respect to how we are able to assist our served agencies in times of emergency, especially Wood County Emergency Management.  Training and proactively practicing what we’ve trained is absolutely the best thing we can do to reinforce what we’ve learned, especially when it comes to specialized trainings for our served agencies” said Wood County ARES/RACES Emergency Coordinator Mike Krohn.

The amateur radio emergency services are overseen by the American Radio Relay League and are open to all licensed amateur radio operators.  For more information, contact w9bbf@arrl.net, visit www.w9wca.com, or find Wood County ARES on Facebook.