The Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) will sponsor the traditional military/Amateur Radio communication tests to mark the 67th annual Armed Forces Day (AFD) on Saturday, May 12. Armed Forces Day is May 19, but the AFD Crossband Military-Amateur Radio event traditionally takes place one week earlier in order to avoid conflicting with Hamvention. Complete information, including military stations, modes, and frequencies, is available.
The annual celebration is a unique opportunity to test two-way communication between radio amateurs and military stations (authorized under §97.111 of the Amateur Service rules). It features traditional military-to-amateur crossband SSB voice, CW, practice using legacy interoperability waveforms, and the opportunity for participating hams to utilize more modern military modes, such as MIL-STD Serial PSK and Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). Military stations and Amateur Radio stations are authorized to communicate directly on certain 60-meter interoperability channels.
These tests give Amateur Radio operators and shortwave listeners (SWLs) a chance and a challenge to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly controlled exercise scenario and to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station. QSL cards will be available for stations successfully contacting participating military stations. [ARRL Letter]