Military Auxiliary Radio System

Overview
The Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS)

"provides DOD sponsored emergency communications on a local, national, and international basis as an alternate communications capability. The program consists of licensed amateur radio operators who are interested in military communications. MARS has for many years provided morale, welfare, and official record and voice communications traffic for Armed Forces and authorized U.S. Government civilian personnel stationed throughout the world. The combined three Service MARS programs (Army, Air Force, and Navy-Marine Corps) volunteer force of over 5,000 dedicated and skilled amateur radio operators is the backbone of the MARS program."