Before the hurricanes of 2005, Stewart leisurely used his amateur radio skills to visit other ham operators across the United States, and mused at the opportunity to chat with the Space Shuttle crew via his desktop transmitter in Cameron.
Susan Reinders, Milam County’s homeland security director, knew about Stewart’s ham radio hobby, and recruited him into service when Hurricane Rita threatened the Texas coast and appeared to be headed toward Central Texas.
Stewart set up his antenna and ham radio set at the Milam County Courthouse’s homeland security headquarters in Cameron to ensure emergency management officials could communicate if the storm struck.
“Everything I came across in state and regional planning stated that amateur radio is the backup system for communications and we didn’t have a radio,” Mrs. Reinders said. “Mr. Stewart brought in his equipment and set up his antenna in the courthouse yard.”
Stewart, who transmits with the handle KD5WRO, said, “If we had gotten hit, we would have been in communication with Bell County with my radio equipment.”
Stewart, as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed in Seoul, Korea, in the 1950s, supervised radio transmissions to the Pentagon during his 2½-year oversees tour of duty.
His duties in radio operations for the Army’s Signal Corps during the Korean War heightened his interest in becoming a licensed amateur radio operator, which he considered a relaxing sideline until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S.
“We saw, in my opinion, a great loss of life during 9/11 because we didn’t have proper first responder communications to notify everybody to get out of the building, including the first responders,” said Stewart, who immediately saw how amateur radio operators could have aided in the evacuation of the World Trade Center.
Today, Stewart volunteers as chairman of Milam County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee and heads the county’s Amateur Radio Emergency Service, which is part of a nationwide organization used for disaster communications when normal channels are not available. The American Radio Relay League sponsors ARES.
In the event of any type of a disaster that might wipe out landline telephone, cell phones or e-mail, Stewart and nearly two dozen licensed amateur radio operators will take over communications to help Mrs. Reinders in correlating response teams and notifying agencies.
One major advantage of using amateur radio is that “public safety organizations have a few frequencies they are authorized to use,” Stewart said. “We have literally thousands of frequencies.”
Milam County’s amateur radio network is in place and ready to go on the air with a transmitter/receiver in the courthouse. Two weeks ago, an antenna was placed on top of the courthouse, Stewart said. Next on the agenda is to purchase a repeater to enhance transmissions.
“Everybody has to have a communication plan,” Mrs. Reinders said. “For the county, you have to contact key individuals through landlines, cell phones, fax and e-mails. The amateur radio is our back up. If one system goes down, the second system is in place.”
Next year additional amateur radio training and testing opportunities will be offered to broaden the list of licensed volunteers, she said. The Milam County Health Unit must have a radio system in place, in addition to the homeland security department, she said. Both Milam County hospitals have backup amateur radio systems in place, Mrs. Reinders said.
In March, when the National Weather Service conducts its storm spotter training in Rockdale, homeland security wants to have its licensed radio operators there to have the county covered in the event violent weather disrupts traditional communications, she said.
Mrs. Reinders organized amateur radio training and license testing in Cameron, and has in place a team of volunteers who are Federal Communications Commission certified to broadcast on specific frequencies during emergencies.
Mrs. Reinders also was trained and licensed as a technician, using the call sign KE5LVI.
Dr. Frank Summers, Milam County judge and a member of the county’s volunteer ham radio team, said the Milam County Amateur Radio Emergency Service will be meeting regularly to train for emergency situations.
“We all hope that we never encounter a situation that requires emergency response, but if it does, Milam County will be prepared to meet the challenge,” he said.
