{"id":39466,"date":"2019-09-07T07:38:55","date_gmt":"2019-09-07T11:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=39466"},"modified":"2019-09-07T07:38:55","modified_gmt":"2019-09-07T11:38:55","slug":"history-of-the-armed-forces-radio-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/history-of-the-armed-forces-radio-service\/","title":{"rendered":"History of the Armed Forces Radio Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall being interviewed by the Armed Forces Radio Service (Source: Wikipedia)<\/p><\/div>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Ron, who shares this article from Radio World:<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t fully appreciate the importance of\u00a0news from home<\/em>\u00a0to those who served in World War II. In the Pacific campaigns, G.I.s, sailors and Marines fought bloody island-hopping battles; as each island was cleared, garrison troops and hospitals moved in and carried on their own war against mosquitoes, isolation and boredom. The island fighters were fortunate if dated mail caught up with them before they moved on to the next target. Timely personal-level communications were pretty much absent.<\/p>\n

Radio programming from America was available but only on shortwave. And shortwave radios were not generally available. The fortunate few had been issued \u201cBuddy Kits\u201d that included a radio, a small PA system and a record player for discs sent by mail. But for most there was no way to receive short-lived information such as news and sports. They were left with enemy radio propaganda such as Japan\u2019s \u201cOrphan Ann\/Annie\u201d (aka one of several Tokyo Roses) and the \u201cZero Hour\u201d program.<\/p>\n

No wonder that the idea of having a local island radio station doing \u201clive from home\u201d was so fiercely supported. Enlightened commanders saw the idea as a terrific morale-builder. The only problem was how to pull it off.<\/p>\n

A solution, not uniquely, came from within the ranks. It started with the work of some bored but talented soldiers in the Panama Canal Zone who in 1940 built a couple of 50 W transmitters and put them on the air without authorization, labeling them \u201cPCAN\u201d and \u201cPCAC.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Alaska, 7,500 miles northwest of Panama City, what started as programming through a loudspeaker system became a bootleg radio operation at Kodiak. Coming on the air in January 1942 and calling itself \u201cKODK,\u201d it delivered a whopping 15 watts to the troops. Sources with hindsight later said that the Armed Forces Radio Service (\u201cAFRS\u201d) was born here, when one of its progenitors visited the Alaska operations and \u201ccame up with the idea.\u201d[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click here to continue reading the full article at Radio World.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who shares this article from Radio World: We can\u2019t fully appreciate the importance of\u00a0news from home\u00a0to those who served in World War II. In the Pacific campaigns, G.I.s, sailors and Marines fought bloody island-hopping battles; as each island was cleared, garrison troops and hospitals moved in and carried […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,305,288,43],"tags":[1078,7992,4149,634],"class_list":["post-39466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-shortwave-radio","tag-afn","tag-afrs","tag-armed-forces-service","tag-radio-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-agy","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37011,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/armed-forces-day-annual-cross-band-test-may-11-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":39466,"position":0},"title":"Armed Forces Day Annual Cross-Band Test – May 11, 2019","author":"Thomas","date":"April 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: USAmyMARS.org via Harald Kuhl) (11 May 2019) The Army Military Auxiliary Radio System will host this year\u2019s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Crossband Test on Saturday May 11, 2019. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators, and will not impact any public or private communications. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/MARS-LOGO.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/MARS-LOGO.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/MARS-LOGO.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13971,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/shortwave-radio-recordings-nigerian-armed-forces-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":39466,"position":1},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Nigerian Armed Forces Radio","author":"Thomas","date":"July 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"At 06:00 UTC\u00a0this morning, I recorded\u00a0one hour of the Nigerian Armed Forces Radio test on 13,775 kHz. This broadcast was transmitted from a 250 kW transmitter in Issoudun, France. Hypothetically, this may have been the last test transmission of the NAFR as WRMI's announcement stated\u00a0the test period would last only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nigeria","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Nigeria.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Nigeria.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Nigeria.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Nigeria.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4683,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/german-armed-forces-radio-testing-in-drm\/","url_meta":{"origin":39466,"position":2},"title":"German Armed Forces Radio testing in DRM","author":"Thomas","date":"October 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Andernach, Germany's armed forces radio station, is now testing in Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) on 6,015 kHz from TDF Issoudun in central France. They claim that the potential move to DRM would mean that they would equip all of their Naval vessels with DRM receivers. Source: http:\/\/www.dxaktuell.de\/?p=2616 Thanks to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/IssoundunTransmitterAntenna-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31797,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/armed-forces-day-crossband-test-on-may-12-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":39466,"position":3},"title":"Armed Forces Day Crossband Test on May 12, 2018","author":"Thomas","date":"April 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Brian (W9IND), who shares the following announcement regarding the next Armed Forces Day Crossband Test: The Army Military Auxiliary Radio System will host this year\u2019s Armed Forces Day Crossband Test, scheduled for May 12, 2018. This annual event is open to all radio operators,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-93-Dial-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-93-Dial-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-93-Dial-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13866,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/wrmi-test-transmission-of-armed-forces-radio-of-nigeria\/","url_meta":{"origin":39466,"position":4},"title":"WRMI test transmission of Armed Forces Radio of Nigeria","author":"Thomas","date":"June 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: WRMI on Facebook) Radio Miami has arranged for a one-week test transmission of the Armed Forces Radio of Nigeria from the Issoudun, France relay site beginning Tuesday, June 30. The transmission, which will be directed to West Africa, will be from 0600-0700 UTC on two frequencies: 11,825 kHz will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Radio Miami International","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/logo1radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31983,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/this-weekend-historic-nss-call-sign-reactivated-during-armed-forces-day-crossband-test\/","url_meta":{"origin":39466,"position":5},"title":"This weekend: Historic NSS Call Sign reactivated during Armed Forces Day Crossband Test","author":"Thomas","date":"May 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Brian Smith (W9IND), who shares the following press release regarding the historic U.S. Navy callsign NSS that will be reactivated during the 100th anniversary of the former Naval Radio Station in Annapolis, Maryland: Historic NSS Call Sign to be Reactivated During its 100th Anniversary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NSS-QSL-Card-NAVY-e1526037544401.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NSS-QSL-Card-NAVY-e1526037544401.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NSS-QSL-Card-NAVY-e1526037544401.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NSS-QSL-Card-NAVY-e1526037544401.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39466\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}