October 2023

10/18/23 | Issue 23

NSWIC Launches a Guide to the PACE Plan

Developing a communications plan that helps your organization prepare for unforeseen events and unusual circumstances is critical to improving resiliency during disasters. The PACE (Primary Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) communication plan can help with building redundancies and strategies to mitigate unplanned disruptions in your communications.

The Planning, Training, and Exercise Committee (PTE) of the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC), in collaboration with SWICs and Emergency Communications Coordinators, has published a guide to help you get started, Leveraging the Pace Plan Into the Emergency Communications Ecosystem. Visit CISA's Training and Exercises page for this and more.

2024 Solar Eclipse Planning Without MACs

The MAC talkgroups are designated as interoperable channels that can temporarily aid communications between organizations on AWIN that do not otherwise share a talkgroup. Duty officers at the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) provide oversight of this statewide resource and can assign MAC channels to AWIN user agencies for emergency situations, as well as planned events.

• Got a big festival or game coming up in your region and need interoperable communications? Call ADEM and request a MAC!

• Teaming up with other organizations for a training exercise? Call ADEM and request a MAC!

• Preparing backup interoperable communications for a huge influx of visitors for the 2024 Eclipse? Do NOT call ADEM for a MAC!

The MAC channels, as well as other statewide interoperability channels on the Arkansas Baseline Interoperability Template (ABIT), are vital but limited resources. In an effort to maximize their benefit, the State is making detailed, careful plans for their use and distribution during the 2024 Eclipse.

The MACs 1 through 15 will be kept in reserve for critical incidents during the Eclipse event and will NOT be assigned in advance as part of any organization's routine communications planning.

There are 5-1/2 months left until the Eclipse, time enough to fine-tune PACE planning for communications. Organizations with concerns about interoperability should reach out to their county emergency management for assistance coordinating resources.

AWIN Response to Lightning Strike

On October 4, 2023, the Dixieland tower in Benton County was damaged by a significant lightning strike, causing the Benton County Simulcast to go offline from 10:00 A.M. until 11:00 P.M. AWIN radios roamed onto the Washington County Simulcast, impacting the network for users in Fayetteville and Springdale.

AWIN and the ASP Maintenance Team were dispatched quickly to deliver SOWs to the Rogers Police Department and the Sulphur Springs Water Treatment Plant (pictured above) to support radio communications in Benton County while the Motorola maintenance team headed to the Dixieland site to assess and repair the damage.

A quick shoutout goes to the ASP and Motorola maintenance teams for their assistance and support of AWIN during our severe storm response. Thank you for the great work, teams!

Photo by Kent Ramsey.