NM Army MARS | News | A History of MARS

Frank Turner/AAM6TNM
Posted: 07 Sep 2004
(This item derived from briefing for Alamogordo, NM Hamfest)

Our Army MARS Program can trace its lineage back over 75 years almost to the beginnings of the amateur radio service.

· The Army Amateur Radio System (AARS) was created in November 1925 by a few dedicated pioneers in the United States Army Signal Corps led by Captain Thomas C. Rives. His original intent was to enlist the talents of volunteer Amateur Radio operators as a ready source who could train soldiers in the then new technology of radio as well as pursuing radio research and development to improve radio equipment within the Army. In addition, this support would be particularly useful during the mobilization of forces by providing a pool of already trained radio operators. Their efforts were very successful and our current day MARS program is the direct descendent of the work of those early pioneers.^1,2,3

· The Army MARS program has long had the mission of emergency communications. During the latter part of the 20th century our support to the morale and welfare message system was often identified as our major operation. But even as early as 1929 where, after a significant AARS reorganization, the mission of emergency support was clearly foremost in our charter. Included in the general plan at that time were the following emergency preparedness goals.

A Message from General Gibbs³

To American Radio Amateurs:
In 1925 the Signal Corps entered into an affiliation with the transmitting radio amateurs of the United States. Three years of operation under the original plan have demonstrated the advisability of revising that plan to provide for an expansion of the system to cover more thoroughly all parts of the United States.

The value of such a plan has well been illustrated in such emergencies as the Vermont floods and the Florida hurricane. In the latter case, communication to and from the stricken area for three nights and two days was accomplished through War Department Station WAR (old WVA) and an amateur at West Palm Beach.

Such service to the country by amateurs is of inestimable value, and it is hoped that under the revised plan amateurs will, in a greater degree than before, ally themselves with the Signal Corps for national and community service.

George S. Gibbs
Major General
Chief Signal Officer of the Army

· During the years 1925 through 1941, the AARS continued to operate and functioned more or less as an extra curricular activity for members of the U. S. Army Signal Corps, with its scope limited by the meager budget of the pre-World War II depression years.

· The AARS organization continued to operate until the United States entry into World War II, at which time radio amateurs were denied the use of the airwaves when on 7 December 1941, both the amateur service and the Army Amateur Radio System were deactivated.

· The best available figures indicate that as of December 1941, there were approximately 60,000 FCC licensed Amateurs within the United States and its possessions, about 5600 of whom were also members of the AARS.

· About 20% of the pre-World War II AARS members eventually entered the service of their country either in the Army or in a civilian capacity.

· Following World War II, the U.S. Army recognized the great importance of reactivating the AARS to train vitally needed communications personnel at a relatively low direct cost to the government and in 1946 the AARS was reactivated. The AARS functioned as such until the creation of the Military Amateur Radio System in November 1948 with the establishment of separate Army and Air force MARS programs reflecting the creation of the Air Force as a separate service.

· The program's name was changed to the Military Affiliate Radio System on 2 September 1952 in recognition of the organization's changing nature with the growing number of civilian volunteer members.

· The Navy-Marine Corps MARS program was established officially on 17 August 1962 and began operations on 1 January 1963.

Interservice Cooperation - For many years there were strict rules that for the most part restricted our ability to operate jointly with the other service MARS organizations. These restrictions, a few of which remain in force today, made it difficult to quickly route traffic between service networks and even operate on the same frequencies.

· The Traffic Exchange Network, or "TEXN", was one of the first programs instituted to provide a means to expedite the delivery of record traffic and allowed for traffic to be transferred to another MARS service when it would result in reduced delivery time. However, only selected stations were authorized to act as service representatives and allowed to enter into other service networks only at specific times and on selected frequencies.

· As our armed forces have come a long way in conducting truly joint combat operations, so has the cooperation and ease with which the service MARS organizations can now work together, especially with our expanded emphasis on emergency operations. Many of the old restrictions are gone and we routinely hear other service stations checking into our networks and many Army MARS members participating in other service nets. Several states have gone further in this regard by pooling service efforts for traffic handling, emergency exercises and even publishing joint newsletters.

· The origin of our MARS logo goes back to 1952 when a call went out to all MARS members asking for submission of entries for a MARS seal or logo. The contest was open to all members with the stipulation that the seal design be circular in shape, representing the Army Signal Corps, Air Force Communications and Radio Communications in general. Eighty-seven entries were received from MARS members.⁴

· All proposed seals were carefully studied at MARS headquarters and the MARS chiefs finally narrowed the choice to seven entries. These were submitted to a joint advisory committee and after several meetings and much study a composite, incorporating features of five proposed ideas, was recommended to the committee and adopted on 7 April 1953.

· The resulting MARS seal is the composite of designs submitted by then Lieutenant Colonel Philip Sansone, 2nd Lieutenant Robert Beremer, Private First Class Harold White, Staff Sergeant, John Brewer and Eugene Sydowski who was a civilian MARS member. In 1962 the seal was modified to reflect the establishment of the Navy/Marine Corps program and the concept of the joint services MARS program.

· The seal as it exists today is our emblem, our banner and our "MARS flag" that we all are so rightly proud to share with the world. Its primary colors of red, white and blue come from a higher and more distinctive banner, the flag of the United States of America.

· The globe itself depicts the fact that MARS is expected to meet mission requirements around the globe.

· The radio tower and radio signals depict our primary mission and methods: that of "emergency communications" via radio.

· The two gold bands encircling the globe and the seal indicate that MARS is precious, just as gold is recognized as a precious metal and that MARS morale and welfare messages as well as disaster relief support messages are precious to those who send and receive them.

MARS has grown over the years in all of the services' programs and throughout the world, both in numbers and in mission focus. We rely on civilian and military MARS members to be available in times of emergency or disaster to provide important communications support to both departments and agencies of the Federal government and, in emergency situations, EEI reporting. In today's turbulent world, we must always be prepared to respond. Amateur Radio, collectively with MARS, has made marks in American history with each year, providing new evidence of the important role we play in the service of our nation.

Notes:
¹"History of Army MARS Program"
²"Editorial," QST, March 1929
³ "The Army-Amateur Radio System is Revised," QST, March 1929
⁴Sutton, "History of MARS Seal"