The ARRL Letter reports
that officials of Army MARS (the Military Auxiliary Radio Service) met with
League staffers in early October to discuss ways in which the two organizations
might work together in emergency response.The immediate focus was a national-level MARS test of backup communications scheduled for early November, for which the Army group had already invited participation by its colleagues in Navy-Marine Corps and Air Force MARS, as well as CFARS, the Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio System. The 48-hour test is designed to measure the capability of MARS to provide backup communications in the event that normal communications are disrupted throughout North America.