REACT... What do they do?

[iMONITOR]

By the way non family members using GMRS is ILLEGAL.

I also don't know of a single person who has a CB in their car. So the whole channel 9 thing is really so 1975. Truckers don't even use it much anymore. On a recent long distance road trip I tried monitoring CB just to see, and there was very little use.

I agree with most of what you're saying. However, when you say "illegal", you mean allowing non family members to operate on your license, correct? If REACT members all obtain their own individual license then it would be legal for them to use GMRS.

As for CB, I think it depends greatly on where you live. CB is almost silent where I live, and if you did use one to call for help, it would most likely attract trouble. But I do think in some of the Western, and Southern states it is more prevalent, and practical.

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

Yes, that is what I should have said about the license, thanks for clarification.

And I am sure some do use CB (in a sane way), I just haven't heard many personally. I am sure this is not only because of cell phones, but because some truly vile individuals enjoy broacasting garbage at high power on this band for some strange reason I will never understand.

Out of your whole post though, the thing that really struck me was your comment about attracting trouble. I mean, the thought of a young lady for instance calling out on a CB that she is alone and stranded in the middle of nowhere gives me chills. I can just imagine the types what would hear the call and might show up, judging by the madness I hear on the CB band around here. Every seen "The Hills Have Eyes"?

 

[commstar]

Ok so lets review

1. The '70's were a great time.

2. 'They' need to make Green Highway Vests in larger sizes.

3. T-shirts can be used as emergency vehicle markings.

4. When Cell phones cease to function, CB will see its grand resurgence and return to save the day (everyone will be dead and the band will be open and usable again) This is apparently well documented in both Cedar Rapids, Iowa, New Orleans, La and even Myanmar as of late. I am still looking for the documentation but I know it is there despite no discernible evidence in support of the contention.If you are hoarding 23 ch sets and K40 mag mounts you will be a billionaire.

5. If you put a tower in you backyard and mark it as Government property, people will appear and do your yardwork for you.

6. REACT folks are not wackers- they are individuals who are highly dedicated to public service organized into a militaristic chain of command in a very high profile manner in areas of need where there is little to no need, largely because of the inconvenient barriers of pre-employment testing (background,psych, physical agility, felony convictions) involved in entering the Law Enforcement, Firefighting, or EMS fields as a volunteer. I salute your service!

7. React may account for up to 14% of Galls over all sales of amber lighting and multi-outlet cigarette lighter blocks (with double sided tape).

8. Obama 'Renegade' recently turned down REACT coverage in favor of a AAA Plus Card.

9. The microphone on the REACT logo was once installed on Nixons CB radio which was installed covertly in the Resolute Desk- as well as a linear for emergency FEMA EMCOMM OPS.This is little known and was considered a matter of national security at the time and only discussed inside SCIFs until recently. Hence, the President line of CB radios. The Haldeman model had a tape recorder and a shredder built-in. The current location of the mic is not known but many believe that it has been intregrated into the football that travels with the POTUS and is one of the crown jewels of the illuminati/NWO crowd.

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

I met a guy up near Flagstaff who was big into react and said he held the rank of major and even had a long sleeve shirt with a stripe for every five years of "service".

Another react person I saw in action was wearing a handgun and talking to an old man at a gas station once. While I was filling up I listened to him lecture the old man about not driving through a running wash, and had his hand on the grip of his gun the whole time. The old guy got pretty angry eventually the react guy backed down saying "don't worry sir we are taking any action against you at this time but we are watching". The old man drove off.

 

[sacscan]

And I am sure some do use CB (in a sane way), I just haven't heard many personally. I am sure this is not only because of cell phones, but because some truly vile individuals enjoy broacasting garbage at high power on this band for some strange reason I will never understand.

Out of your whole post though, the thing that really struck me was your comment about attracting trouble. I mean, the thought of a young lady for instance calling out on a CB that she is alone and stranded in the middle of nowhere gives me chills. I can just imagine the types what would hear the call and might show up, judging by the madness I hear on the CB band around here. Every seen "The Hills Have Eyes"?

We have the same problem here. No woman is safe from vile and disgusting remarks from the mental midgets, and the "my radio is bigger than your radio" stupidity runs rampant (compensation for a small penis, probably). In spite of all this, people who I know for a FACT own a cell phone still choose to say stuff on the radio that should be kept off the air.

Needless to say, I feel that I get my money's worth out of my cell phone!

 

[jleverin]

That's my point: if REACT is so important, then why aren't they made an auxillary to local police depts. There are depts that have volunteers that perform neighborhood watch and even do ride-a-longs with the cops sometimes. They could probably be of more use that way instead of just showing up and getting in the cop's way!

 

[af5rn]

I dunno. I see volunteer cops and firemen in pretty much the same light as REACT. They're all just people looking for a hobby to make their own lives and self worth more interesting. I don't really have any more respect or admiration for the volunteer cops and firemen simply because the city gives them an ID card. They all attempt to help the community in their own way, and with varying levels of success. Asking REACT why they don't just join Neighbourhood Watch is the same as asking a volunteer fireman why he doesn't just teach kids to read. People are allowed to choose how they want to contribute to society. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[n2mdk]

I dunno. I see volunteer cops and firemen in pretty much the same light as REACT. They're all just people looking for a hobby to make their own lives and self worth more interesting. I don't really have any more respect or admiration for the volunteer cops and firemen simply because the city gives them an ID card. They all attempt to help the community in their own way, and with varying levels of success. Asking REACT why they don't just join Neighbourhood Watch is the same as asking a volunteer fireman why he doesn't just teach kids to read. People are allowed to choose how they want to contribute to society. Nothing wrong with that.

You don't seem to grasp the idea of a volunteer fire department. In a lot of small towns they are the only fire dept. the area has. I think you would be more apt to give them the respect they deserve when they are the only thing that stands between you and the situation that calls them to your rescue.

 

[af5rn]

Oh puhleeze. I was a firefighter for many years. I think I understand how it all works. What a volunteer fireman does is rarely any more honourable than what a REACT volunteer does. Both of them are mostly motivated by their own personal thrills, not some altruistic devotion to his fellow man. Not once have I ever seen a VFD close down and all the members go continue their "public service" by collecting garbage, mopping the floors at city hall, driving a school bus, or mowing the grass at the courthouse for free. There are plenty of ways to help your community that nobody volunteers to do. Why? Because they don't get whacker lights for doing those jobs.

As for the volunteers being the "only thing...", they are the reason they are the only thing. If they all disappeared tomorrow, they'd quickly be replaced by professionals, by whom the community would be better served. But as long as the idiot community leaders think they can get something for nothing, they will. Thanks, volunteers. Thank you so much for preventing your community from ever progressing into the 21st century and acquiring professional fire protection. You're all heroes.

 

[n2mdk]

Good to see another person with a firm grasp on the economics of small town rural America :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[Astro25]

React LOL

 

[af5rn]

Good to see another person with a firm grasp on the economics of small town rural America :roll: :roll: :roll:

Any rural community that cannot figure out a way to make it work is a FAILURE and deserves what they get. It can be done. It just takes vision, imagination, and intelligent management. Relying on simply doing what you've always done will get you nothing more than what you've always gotten. And that's exactly what pumping money into a volunteer system will get you.

 

[SAR923]

af5rn, I usually agree with you on most of your views but you're a little over the top on this one. Areas of relative wealth, like southern California, have slowly replaced volunteer FD's with paid professionals over the years. I think the last VFD was absorbed by LACO Fire about 10 years ago. States like Alabama simply don't have the money to be able to have paid departments outside of the larger cities. We are hamstrung by a property tax system that makes it almost impossible for poor communities to develop a tax base to support a paid department. Heck, many of the departments hardly have enough money for things like decent turnouts and SCBA's. Of course, homeowners pay by having class 9 fire ratings and correspondingly high fire insurance rates. The volunteers here don't get to have whacker lights or anything special for being a volunteer firefighter. They really do volunteer to help save their neighbor's house from at least burning to the ground. It's a very discouraging situation for many of the VFD's but there aren't many options and no amount of vision, imagination, and intelligent management will replace simply not having enough money to do a better job.

 

[af5rn]

Do they pay the school bus drivers in that town?

Then they can pay firemen. They just don't want to.

Not every little burb has to have their own fire department. Much like Kalifornia, they can establish county-wide or other regional fire departments to pool the financial resources of a larger area. There are just way too many lesser important things that these communities always manage to pay for to believe that they wouldn't have the means to fund public safety or public health if they really wanted to. But as long as they look over and see a volunteer fire hall, and a bunch of guys hanging around -- and the mayor's house doesn't burn -- they simply have no motivation.

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

It's a bit insulting to put a police officer or fireman on the level of a react person. I have friends who have went through the process to become a fireman or police officer in the Phoenix area, and it takes YEARS of hard work, including volunteer work to make it. The process is grueling, and the check they do on you to become a cop is a microscopic exam. They do everything on earth to see if you lie, at all. Layers of detectives interview you about your life to evaluate your honesty and character if you want to be an officer around here. Getting on an FD means a year or two working for free on ambulance crews and the like. The physical requirements are extreme.

I have the utmost respect for these people and to compare them to wannabees is an insult to what it takes to be the real thing, at least around here. Phoenix officers and firefighters are an elite caliber of people, don't know about your community.

 

[WX5JCH]

Run away as fast as you can. They are trouble.

 

[n8emr]

Here are a few things I have heard from REACT here in Oklahoma County.

1. Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department puts a call out for a car that is stalled in an intersection. They need an officer with push bars. REACT person comes over the radio and states he is at the intersection and has push bars so go ahead and 10-22 that county officer.

And if they have approval to be on the Sheriff freq then there is nothing wrong with it. If they dont then they should be arrested.

 

[n8emr]

A good react group is good and serves a purpose, A bad react group is REALLY bad and usually causes more issues than they solve.

 

[Steveradio]

I have been a REACT member for about 15 years now starting my service out of high school. We have a great standing with the events we help with and they all appreciate what we do. Not one member in our team runs around with lights on top of vehicle (Except during events and for safety "What they should be used for."). We all have full time jobs and families but like doing something extra for our community. I will admit when first started we had some raft in the group but since than we cleaned up.

I read most of the posts and understand why people look at REACT the way they do since one team that helps us a few counties over shows that. But those good teams that do community events get appreciated by the police or local fire because its one less job they have to worry about. We don't run to disasters or emergency calls all we do is event safety and "Communications". Mostly walks, runs and sometimes event parking control. Unless your team has the training for disasters or other services DON'T DO IT!

Don't forget not all REACT teams are bad, just trying to stay a float. We had some past members that gave us a bad name and since than we are still going. My suggestion to those teams would be to keep check on your members and make good decisions regarding problems that might come up.

Steve

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

And if they have approval to be on the Sheriff freq then there is nothing wrong with it. If they dont then they should be arrested.

I cannot imagine any law enforcement agency allowing a react guy to use their frequency. More than likely he was illegaly operating on their frequency, pushed the car out of the intersection, then ran like hell before the cops got there to arrest him. He probably has one of those $21 dollar ebay radios like the one in the wasteland thread, where you can program in any frequency from your keypad.

If some idiot keyed up on Sheriff Joe's system (not really possible with the current system), he would be doing time in the tent jail, eating green bologna, and drinking hot water, and hating life.