The Chiefs of both Air Force MARS and Navy-Marine Corps MARS
were invited by their Army MARS counterpart to work jointly in a national
communications exercise scheduled for early November. According to Newsline,
the goal of the 48-hour exercise will be to measure the ability of MARS members
to respond in the event that normal communications are disrupted throughout
North America.
Army MARS is also in the process of phasing in direct
support of Army National Guard units around the country, according to spokesman
Bill Sexton, NI1N. Sexton says the group's regional directors were told in
September by Chief Stephen Klinefelter that headquarters had already begun
setting up contacts with individual state Guard organizations, as part of the
Army's broader program of Defense Support for Civil Authorities.
