The nationwide American Red Cross Emergency Communications Fall Drill, a joint exercise with Arapahoe County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®), is set to take place on November 14. This exercise evolved from the highly successful spring drill that attracted hundreds of participants from some 40 states and Puerto Rico.

The fall drill will be a Winlink-specific event with these goals: (1) pass traditional American Red Cross (ARC) forms from as many states and as many radio amateurs as possible to one of six division clearinghouses, and (2), bring as many radio operators as possible up to a "basic" level of Winlink proficiency. A series of Winlink Workshops is held each Thursday at 0100 UTC on Zoom.

Winlink Proficiency Goals have been drafted, a Winlink technical support team has been formed, and Metrics for Drill Success have been developed. The proficiency goals are established as a training guideline and references online training resources. Many hams new to Winlink may find these resources helpful.

Don't have WinLink? No Problem. You will still be able to use your radio to send messages that will be forwarded to the Red Cross. More details coming soon.

This event is open to all members. Our goal is to get 60% of our members to participate.