During an emergency an ARES® team member may be asked to perform any of a
number of communications-related tasks. The job you're most likely to
find yourself doing is "message handling". Sometimes called "traffic
handling" or "passing traffic", this mundane-seeming task is just about
the most important function we perform for served agencies.
Put simply, message handling is all about processing and passing formal
messages. A formal message is written down to prevent garbling,
misinterpretation, or the loss of key parts. A formal message always has
the originator's name and the recipient's name written on it so that there
is no confusion about where it goes or who sent it. A formal message looks
very much like a telegram. It is, in fact, a radiogram.
Although the precise format of a formal message may vary from agency to
agency, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) has developed and refined
a very efficient form over the years. They have also devised protocols for
sending, receiving, and logging formal messages. In fact there is a
network in place called the National Traffic
System (NTS) which passes formal messages all over the country every day.
The NTS is considered to be an excellent place to develop your message
handling skills.
You will also hear formal traffic being passed on the weekly St. Louis County
ARES® net. For practice, try copying down the messages as they are read
over the air.
© 2008 St. Louis County ARES®
