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02/24/2023 08:05 AMIn times of crisis, the new Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) in North Haven will be prepared to solve any issues that may require their assistance. That is what the new radio unit will do for residents, according to its newly appointed Emergency Coordinator, Raymond Irwin.
ARES, which is a part of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), offers support for communities during times of need, and the new North Haven unit is looking for volunteers interested in using ham radio equipment to provide communications emergencies when natural disasters damage critical communications infrastructure such as cell towers and wireless networks. For Raymond, it proves that radio is still vital in disaster relief efforts.
“When Hurricane Ian hit Florida, both commercial radio and internet communications were severely compromised, and ARES volunteers helped bridge the gap,” Raymond explains.
There may seem like no more optimal time to sign-up, as 2023 has been declared by ARES’ principal organization ARRL as the “Year of the Volunteers.” As North Haven’s first ARES coordinator, gathering volunteers is Raymond’s initial priority.
“The first thing I have to do is get some members. It looks like we’re almost up to five people. They say they have joined or will join,” Raymond says. “I’d like to get up to about eight because when an emergency happens, it can easily be 24 to 48 hours before the normal emergency systems the town has your first aid squad. If the first aid squad gets over-tasked…we supplement, we don’t replace. We supplement when the need outdoes the capability of the town.”
Radio communications have been a defining part of Raymond’s life since childhood, building and learning from his family members.
“When I was kid, I had a church member that was a ham radio operator; my uncle had a shortwave set, it was just something interesting,” he says. “I built crystal radios. My dad’s mother’s sister had married somebody who had a TV shop, and we’d go over there, and it was, like, big eyes seeing all this stuff. He’d give me old TVs, and I’d cut up the resistors and the capacitors.”
In Raymond, volunteers will find a resourceful and knowledgeable leader with striking experience. During his military career, where he rose to the rank of captain in the United States Army, Raymond was a supportive figure in communications units in disparate parts of the world, all with the goal of helping others in times of emergency.
“After finishing the radio systems officer course at Fort Monmouth [New Jersey], I decided to go voluntary indefinite and was offered to select an assignment,” he says. “I chose the electronic warfare laboratory located at the Evans Area, Fort Monmouth where I worked on countertop attack and aircraft protection.”
As American involvement in the Vietnam War was dwindling, Raymond was awaiting deployment somewhere. A newly christened first lieutenant, he was ordered to take his talents to South Korea, where he was the Officer in Charge, overseeing quite a broad area of coverage.
“I was in charge of all the communications from the very tip of Korea, up to Seoul, with exception of some sections of the south,” he says.
Paramount among the problems Raymond helped to solve was the construction of a new communications system for a new underground command post in Seoul.
“I was working with a captain, he was taking the granite out of a mountain, and I was putting communications in,” he says. “There’s a lot of technical issues I got involved in, and it was quite a bit of fun; I learned a lot.”
Raymond’s career made him the decorated communications expert he is today., and the recipient of numerous awards, including those from the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance community, and is an inductee of the Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Hall of Fame. Even with his many accolades, he has continued to work at the Electronic Warfare Laboratory for the past 45 years.
Communication systems have found their way back to his home as well. He has antennas in the back of his home, which can reach contacts across the Atlantic and into Europe.
In his induction letter for the CERDEC Hall of Fame, Raymond gave some words of wisdom to those looking to make a difference in the communications field.
“One person who is willing to innovate, lead, and take those risks that he and she knows are the right thing to do, can and will make a difference,” he stated. “It Takes a Village is a truth that has special meaning to me. Everyone can make a difference, even the smallest of actions, such as a smile as you pass a co-worker in the hallway…can change their day and their life for the better.
He adds a simple yet reliable position that may be the motivation for anyone looking to volunteer.
“For me, it’s the satisfaction you get out of helping people.”