Tactical Callsigns

Standard Operating Guideline

Use of Tactical Callsigns

The use of tactical callsigns is recommended to clarify the functions of individual stations. These tactical callsigns should be used in lieu of Amateur callsigns for all initial calls, and for subsequent exchanges of traffic.

Recommended tactical callsigns

EOC - Linn County Emergency Operations Center

Medical - Station responsible for maintaining liaison with medical response agencies.

Police - Station responsible maintaining liaison with local police.

Sheriff - Station responsible maintaining liaison with the Linn County Sheriff.

Radar - Station operating the Rockwell Radar.

"xxxxxx" County - Station serving as Liaison with another county.

"agency" - Station serving as liaison with a specific agency (e.g. "Red Cross")

"function" - The function you are serving (e.g. "Sag Wagon")

"location" - your assigned location (e.g. "Section 4")

Assignment of Tactical Callsigns

If at all possible, tactical callsigns should be defined in advance of an event and distributed to participating stations for reference. In the event of an emergency where advanced assignment is impossible, net control (or the station himself) should announce the tactical callsign assignment as a station assumes a particular function.

Examples:

1. K0AA, please act as liaison with Jones County ARES on 145.39. Your callsign to this net will be "Jones County".
2. This is K0AA. I will be standing-by with Area Ambulance Service, callsign "Medical".

Meeting FCC Requirements

Your Amateur callsign should be used at the end of an exchange or every ten minutes to satisfy FCC regulation 97.119. This is easily satisfied by terminating an exchange with your tactical callsign plus your FCC assigned callsign.

Example: "Sag Wagon ...Our last runner has finished .... KA0AA, Clear."

Note that participation in a formal net is considered one continuous exchange. This means that NCS will not identify at the end of every exchange, but will do so at least every ten minutes. However, you need not identify every 10 minutes if you have not transmitted since the last time you identified.