BARC has completed its “Technician License in a Weekend” class at USCG Station Chatham (STACHM) on April 25 and 26, its fifth class in the last 15 months (four Technician and one General Class.) This class was the first held for Coast Guard enlisted personnel and was unique in two ways. As part of the most recent initiative and in recognition of their service and the state of funding for Homeland Security:
- all FCC and ARRL VEC exam fees were underwritten by BARC.
- All ARRL Technician License Manuals were provided by the Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager at no cost to the students.
Eight enlisted petty officers at the station attended the Technician License Course and all successfully passed the exam. The Officer-in-Charge, Ross Comstock, KE5BM, expressed his appreciation for BARC’s outreach.
Interest in amateur radio at STACHM was spurred by the breakdown in normal communication and extended loss of electrical power during the February Cape Cod blizzard. Local repeaters using emergency power generators and large capacity battery banks provided a lifeline for snowed-in hams, shelter operations and NWS reports. The Officer-in-Charge made station personnel aware of the contribution of Cape Cod ARES to the emergency response operations coordinated by the Regional Emergency Planning Committee.
A second license class, planned for early June, will include additional enlisted personnel unable to attend the earlier class.
The station has also hosted BARC’s annual Lighthouse weekend event, introducing the many visitors to Chatham Light to an amateur radio station on the shores of the Atlantic.
All attendees received the BARC New Ham Guide to give them a head start in becoming “radio-active.”
Chatham Coast Guard Station Officer-in-Charge, Ross Comstock, KE5BM, expressed his appreciation for BARC’s support in a statement he prepared that described the benefits of the BARC initiative to his crewmembers.
BARC is a Special Service Club and has maintained that status for over a decade. BARC’s Coast Guard Technician Class initiative continues that tradition of service.
In the spirit of “The Year of the Club,” within the American Radio Relay League, BARC hopes that other clubs will adopt local military installations and hold license classes, both as a way to show appreciation for the service provided by these young men and women and to attract new, young people into amateur radio.