By Mark Gibson (N4MQU)

Third quarter moon at 3:30 AM

As an amateur radio operator we are able to serve our community using our amateur radio communication skills during emergencies or reporting changing weather conditions to Skywarn.  As a person with basic Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training you will get CERT Volunteer recruitment notices. I saw one the other day that sparked an interest in volunteering for it.  It said Could you be a decoy for a TSA K-9?  I thought that was interesting so I signed up for the first date available. The day came so I woke up at 3:30 AM and followed the directions to the airport they gave me and called my handler when I arrived at 4:30 in the morning.  I am not at liberty to tell you what I did exactly but I pretended to be a passenger going through the screening process.  They hid something on my person and had me go through the line.  I think I went through the line four times and the dogs discovered me each time.  I was handcuffed and pulled out of the line.  (Not really the handcuffs I made up) I was pulled out of the line.  You do have to wake up early for this activity but I had a lot of fun. I encourage you to get your basic CERT training and look for other than amateur radio opportunities you may wish to volunteer for.  I made sure the handler knew I was a member of JARS CERT.

One of the K9 dogs