REACT... What do they do?

[Tfitzmaurice89]

Ok, so i have heard some things about a program called REACT, but im not exactly sure what they do... anybody help my curiosity?

[Grog]

Wear wacker clothing, get into shootouts with the police, and mostly pretend they are important. I saw a local react wacker with his truck parked in a travel lane on the interstate while the vehicle that was broken down was well off the shoulder

[SLWilson]

You are not going to get much of a straight answer here.

I suggest you check out their website at: http://www.reactintl.org/

Wile many here think they are (and please understand "some" are nuts) not everyone involved in REACT is a "whacker" or a nut or crazy.

Like I said, check out their web page...

Steve/KB8FAR

[brandon]

LMAO the first thing I thought of when I saw this topic was how soon before the word whacker is mention. Grog delivers

[mikegilbert]

Originally Posted by Grog

Wear wacker clothing, get into shootouts with the police, and mostly pretend they are important. I saw a local react wacker with his truck parked in a travel lane on the interstate while the vehicle that was broken down was well off the shoulder

[LouisvilleScanMan]

Let me just say that there are many people in REACT that are there for the wrong reasons and try to be something that they are not, BUT, there are a lot of people in the organization that truely want to use thier radio skills to help others and even though many teams are inactive due to low interest or membership, some teams are thriving such as Dallas county REACT and Travis county REACT in Texas or Penobscot REACT in Maine or Flagler county REACT in Florida just to name a few. REACT succeeds in areas where there is a need for it and good people who care and are willing to make an effort.

Chris DeMarsh
Louisville METRO-REACT Team Unit # 2-60

[Tfitzmaurice89]

So... all in all, REACT is just people who use CBs and monitor channel 9. I heard from alot of people that alot of them are whackers too... guess this clears up some confusion. Its kinda funny though... not alot of people have CBs anymore, just hillbillys like me and raido enthusests, so do you guys just go and direct traffic now and then at events?

[LouisvilleScanMan]

REACT uses more then just CB's, the sad truth is many teams don't even monitor CH9 anymore eventhough many people still use it to report emergencies and request assistance. REACT teams use any and all types of radio (CB, FRS/GMRS, Ham, MURS,). And a lot of people still use CB's, if you sit along any major highway and watch for a while you'll see CB antennas on more vehicles then you think.

[kb2vxa]

Blue, what you say may be true in other areas but in the NYC/NNJ/CNJ areas REACT was once active but for years has been as dead as CB. Regardless of using other radio services I simply haven't seen them around. BTW, I haven't seen a CB antenna base or mobile for years except on an interstate truck here and there and not many of those either.

[okccsi]

Too many tall buldings in New York maybe? Just kidding. Not that they are near you, but if you travel I-35 and/or I-40 you will see tons of antenna's. They are a constant figure in and around Oklahoma City.

As well, I took a trip last March from OKC to Reno. The entire time I was on I-40 going west and coming back east, the highway was littered with vehicles that had CB antenna's on them.

I don't think it is as dead as most people think, however, I think the guys sitting in their house or garage with a base station and 1000 watt amps are dying rapidly.

Stop by a truck stop some time.

Don Manning

[GreatLakes]

I actually inquired about REACT many years ago, as to why they did not provide any services in Michigan. Their response was that I should get involved and form a REACT group in Michigan myself. They wanted a very substantial amount of money from me for the privilege of doing so. I don't recall the amount. There is a lot of overhead in that organization.

They seem totally redundant in the efforts, and services that Amateur Radio offers for free.

REACT
http://www.reactintl.org/index.htm

[jakegday]

the REACT where i live uses channel 20 on those frs/gmrs radios
what they do here is chase storms and direct traffic for things like parades and power outages

[stateboy]

Originally Posted by Grog

Wear wacker clothing, get into shootouts with the police, and mostly pretend they are important. I saw a local react wacker with his truck parked in a travel lane on the interstate while the vehicle that was broken down was well off the shoulder

And they like to assign military ranks to themselves

Seriously, most of the REACT groups are a bunch of whackers that assign themselves radio numbers, equip their rides with all manner of blinky lights and ride around "helping" motorists. Sorry guys, but that is the job of the police and AAA. Stay at home, talk on your CB's and help park cars at the local church festival.

[Grog]

Originally Posted by stateboy

And they like to assign military ranks to themselves

[wesm1957]

Seriously, most of the REACT groups are a bunch of whackers that assign themselves radio numbers, equip their rides with all manner of blinky lights and ride around "helping" motorists. Sorry guys, but that is the job of the police and AAA. Stay at home, talk on your CB's and help park cars at the local church festival.[/QUOTE]

I was a member of a REACT Team in Ohio for over 20 years and yes we had lights and unit numbers. We were considered "Mutual Aid" in the county where I lived. We were called on for help many times by both police and fire departments, so I don't think they thought of us as what everyone is calling whackers. Our team also had two police officers and a special deputy as members. Members of our team were not permitted to just ride around and help motorists. That was done by use of a CB radio being monitored at home.

I am sure there are teams that are just whackers, but I think most teams are there to help others in need, and take what they do very seriously. I know i did, and I know our team did.

[kb2vxa]

Hi again,

"Too many tall buildings in New York maybe? Just kidding."

Oh I'm sure of that, before the moron invasion Brooklyn put CB on the map. In the movie Frequency check out the QSL cards on the glass doors to the parlor. 80% are CB cards from the late 60s and early 70s and quite a few callsigns are very familiar. And the guy's father was a HAM? (;->)

"As well, I took a trip last March from OKC to Reno. The entire time I was on I-40 going west and coming back east, the highway was littered with vehicles that had CB antenna's on them."

A trucker friend often travels that route and he tells the same story.

"I don't think it is as dead as most people think..."

It's like the phrase goes, location location location. Just because it's dead here doesn't say a thing for someplace else. Still the idiots made a mess of it so it's generally pretty dead as compared to what it was before they ruined it.

"...however, I think the guys sitting in their house or garage with a base station and 1000 watt amps are dying rapidly."

I certainly hope so, they're a big part of what ruined it in the first place and continue to make a mess of it for those with a few brain cells left after massive RF exposure. Now if the "freebanders" and 10M pirates would die off...

Well, Martin Luther King had a dream too and there are still some who don't share in it, sigh.

I don't know what that picture was all about, maybe you were thinking of this gun happy terror of the trailer park.

[gewecke]

I don't mind saying I was a former member of react some years back and we had a pretty fair team,including a registered nurse,2 emt-s,1 first responder and even the county coroner as well as a sheriff's deputy. We were laid back compared to some teams who do exceed their authority.
We used primarily Gmrs for which we were all licensed,and a couple of us are amateur radio ops. as well.
React seems to vary greatly in training and the amount of professionalism it retains,depending on what part of the U.S. you're in.
www.reactintl.com
n9zas.

[hoser147]

The only time I see them in my area they set up on busy holiday weekends at the I 75 rest stop and give out Coffee and donuts to road weary drivers. Other than the antennas there is nothing whackerable noted...............Hoser

[ryangassxx]

It's definitely a vehicle for radio dorks to carry on like authority figures.. I just read the "what we do" page of the REACT website.. It's vague and only says that they "assist in an emergency by furnishing radio communications".. I guess in the event that the police somehow lose functionality of their own (probably superior) radio communications system, these guys would be johnny on the spot with their ham radios.. I'm sure local police departments nation wide sleep well at night knowing that these guys have their back..

It also seems to be little more than a "brand" for lack of a better term.. These people are not really endowed with any added permission or authority by anyone. It's just some THING that someone came up with and they basically pimp out their "REACT" brand to anyone willing to coordinate a group somewhere to form a "team"..

I have to admit.. I still do not entirely understand exactly what the point of it is.. If someone could explain their purpose and/or reason for needing specialized vehicles or any equipment for that matter, I would appreciate it..

[LouisvilleScanMan]

As for "specalized vehicles" the only type we really need would be some sort of communications vehicle for long term (48 hr or more) use during disasters, the Chevy Suburban pictured before belongs to this nut named Paul Broussard who is a classic case of the type of person who shouldn't be in REACT or any EMCOMM.

In the past helping stranded motorists in areas with little or no roadside assistance was one of many ways REACTers helped thier communities, but these efforts were overshadowed by the misdeeds of those who would misrepresent themselfs or act irresponsibly (and in turn gave REACT the bad name it has today).

Like I said before, if we could get more serious and responsable people into REACT like there was when the organization was started then it could be restored to it's former glory and be known once again as a valuable EMCOMM group.