Advanced Procedures

Formal Message Handling

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Concept

The primary reason for any CAP voice net is the passing of message traffic. It does not matter if the traffic is formal (written) traffic or informal (verbal) traffic, real or for training purposes, the handling of that message traffic is the reason for the net structure, discipline and operation.

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Concept

A message that is not delivered fails the mission and the responsibility of the CAP communications system.

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Formal Messages

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• There are times when the use of formal messages is important to the reliability of communications. Formal messages should be used in place of informal communications when communicating the following types of information between an Incident Command Post (ICP) and other bases:• Receiving or giving work assignments • Requests for support or additional resources • Reporting progress of assigned tasks• Whenever a record of the communication is desirable

Formal Messages

• CAPR 100-3, paragraph 2-19 defines the CAP formal message structure

• The CAP Message Form is CAPF-105– Revised Form dated Feb 2014– Includes Optional Message Number, Subject,

and Group Count

• A Message Passing Checklist can be found in CAPR 100-3 Attachment 2

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CAP Message Form

• The CAP Radio Message Form, CAPF-105, has three parts:– The Heading– The Message Text– The Ending or Log

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CAP F-105Feb 14

Message Heading

• Think of the heading as the information that would be found on the envelope of a letter

• The radio operator, based on information from the message originator, usually prepares the heading of the message.

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This is what the Heading sectionlooks like on the CAPF-105

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Light shaded print indicates Optional fields or is a guide to DTG construction

The Heading• Message Number – Must be a unique number

assigned by originating station (Optional)• Precedence - Assigned by the originator to

indicate the urgency of delivery• Date Time Group – (DTG) Identifies the

message origination date and time• FROM – The person originating the message• TO – The person(s) the message is directed to• INFO – People getting informational copies

(Optional)

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The Heading – (Cont)

• Subject – What it’s about (Optional)• Group Count – Number of groups in body

– Optional– Used to verify complete message is received– Spaces separate groups– Punctuation marks are not counted as groups– Punctuation with in a string of letters or numbers

does not separate the group• Capnhq.org is one group• 123-ABC is one group

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Message Numbers

• Use of Message Numbers is Optional• Each transmitting station assigns a unique

number • Maintain a Message Number Log to track the

numbers used.• A message that is relayed has the message

number changed by the next transmitting station

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Message Number Log Example

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Message Text

• The message text contains the information the originator wishes to convey to the Addressee(s)

• The text should be prudent and economical in the choice of words that will convey the intended meaning. Get the information across, but don’t be wordy.

• Grammatical correctness is not a requirement• The text is separated from the heading and the

ending by the proword BREAK

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The Ending

• Operator’s Notes– Pertinent comments regarding the message can

be included as “Operators Notes” after the text of the message

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End with OVER• The proword OVER is always the last

word transmitted by the sending station. It indicates that the sender is finished and is now ready to provide fills or accept a message acknowledgment.

• Receiving stations acknowledges receipt of the message with ROGER only if the group count is confirmed and the operator is positive the message was completely and accurately received

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Logging the Message• Receipt

– Station from which the message was received– Time (DTG) of message receipt– Initials of operator receiving the message

• Delivery of the Message– To whom the message was delivered

• Call sign of a station to which the message was relayed

• Name or duty position of an individual– Time (DTG) the message was relayed or delivered– Initials of operator making the delivery

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Message Checklist

• The Message Checklist in CAPR 100-3, Attachment 2, provides an order for each element in a CAP message, and all the correct prowords

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Message Flow

• Let’s apply the Message Checklist from the viewpoint of the originating operator and the receiving operator

• Prowords are shown in BOLD CAPTAL ITALICS

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The originating operator initiates the call• Texas CAP xxxx (call sign of receiving station)• THIS IS Texas CAP xxxx (your call sign)• MESSAGE FOLLOWS• NUMBER Optional as assigned by originating

station• PRECEDENT either PRIORITY or ROUTINE• TIME followed by the date time group• FROM followed by the originator of the message

This may not always be the call sign of the transmitting station

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• TO The action addressee(s)• INFO The addressee(s) not required to take action

(Like a CC list)• GROUPS The number of groups in the message• SUBJECT The subject of the message• BREAK Indicates the beginning of the text• Send the text of the message at copying speed• BREAK Indicates the end of the text• OPERATOR’S NOTES If there are any• OVER Indicates the message is finished and

waiting for the receiving station(s) to acknowledge

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The receiving operator

• The receiving operator’s job is to copy the message exactly as transmitted. Don’t summarize, paraphrase, or guess what the message “really” says.

• When the sender is finished, it’s time to either ask for fills or acknowledge the receipt of the message.

• Then deliver the written message to all the addressees in the time required by the precedence.

Message Logging

• Both the sending and receiving stations must enter the message number and/or the DTG in the station log and note if it was sent or received.

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Message Tracking

• The section at the bottom of the CAPF-105 provides a place to note when the message came in and when it went out of the communications center

• The left side notes the station the message was received from, when it was received, and the operator who received it.

• The right side notes the same information for a message when it leaves the station.

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This is what the Tracking section at the bottom of the CAPF-105 looks like

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Message Delivery

• Messages must be delivered to the addressee(s) in a timely manner.– Priority messages – less than 6 hours– Routine messages – by start of next duty day

• In some circumstances a written receipt may be required to document delivery, just like a UPS package.

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Definitions

Element Proword• Message Number NUMBER• Precedence FLASH

IMMEDIATE

PRIORITY

ROUTINE

• Date Time Group TIME

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FLASH (Z). This precedence is reserved for initial enemy contact messages or operational combat messages of extreme urgency. Brevity is mandatory. FLASH messages are to be handled as fast as humanly possible, ahead of all other messages, with in-station handling time not to exceed 10 minutes. Messages of lower precedence are interrupted on all circuits involved until the handling of FLASH messages is completed. Your station may be in the vicinity of a terrorist attack and able to pass a message about the attack for officials.

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IMMEDIATE (O). This precedence is reserved for messages relating to situations gravely affecting the security of the nation. It requires immediate delivery. Examples include reports of widespread civil disturbance, reports or warning of grave natural disaster, and requests for or directions concerning search and rescue operations. Immediate messages are processed, transmitted, and delivered in the order received and ahead of all messages of lower precedence. They are to be handled as quickly as possible, with in-station handling time not to exceed 60 minutes. Messages of lower precedence will be interrupted on all circuits involved until the handling of the IMMEDIATE message is completed.

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• PRIORITY (P). This precedence is reserved for traffic requiring expeditious action by the addressee or for conducting operations in progress when ROUTINE precedence will not suffice. PRIORITY precedence messages are processed, transmitted, and delivered in the order received and ahead of all messages of ROUTINE precedence. Examples include requests for supplies or equipment during the conduct of an operation, time-critical items requiring quick response, and situation reports. They are to be handled as quickly as possible, with in-station handling time not to exceed 6 hours.

PRIORITY Messages

• Are time sensitive and require expeditious handling

• Are handled ahead of ROUTINE traffic• Are often used for CAP mission traffic• The in-station handling time must be less

than 6 hours

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• ROUTINE (R). This precedence is used for all types of message traffic justifying transmission by rapid means, but not of sufficient urgency to require higher precedence. ROUTINE precedence messages are delivered in the order received and after all messages of higher precedence. ROUTINE is the most used precedence designator in CAP messages. Examples include any message that requires the documentation of its transmission and/or delivery; messages concerning normal operations, programs, or projects; and periodic or consolidated reports. They should be handled as soon as traffic flow allows, but no later than the beginning of the next duty day.

ROUTINE Messages

• Are important, but not as time sensitive as Priority messages

• Is the most commonly used message precedence in CAP

• The in-station handling time should be no longer than the beginning of the next duty day

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Date Time Group (DTG)• The fixed format of the DTG is:

– Date (2 digits)– Time in Zulu or UTC (4 digits followed by Z)– Month (3 letter abbreviations -- spoken as the

whole word)– The year (just the last 2 digits)

• Proceeded by proword TIME• DDTTTTZMMMYY• FIGURES and I SPELL are NOT used• DTG is a single group

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Some Necessary Prowords• MESSAGE• NUMBER• PREDENCE• TIME• FROM• TO• INFO• GROUPS• BREAK

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Some Helpful Prowords• I SPELL

– Often followed by the modifier “Phonetically”– Used to spell out complex or unusual names– Used to spell out acronyms and initials

• FIGURES– I’m going to send a group of characters beginning

with a number

• INITIALS - No longer a proword and not used– Use I SPELL to send a group of one or more

letters

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Helpful Prowords (Con’t)

• CORRECTION– The sender is going to backup and continue with the

last correct word

• WAIT– Hang on a few seconds, I’ll be right back

• WAIT OUT– I’ll have to call you back– Channel available for others use

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Asking for Fills• The receiving operator uses the proword SAY

AGAIN followed by a modifier to request the sending station to send part of the message again. Common modifiers include:– All Before– All After– Word Before – Word After– Group Number (s)

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Sending Fills

• The sending operator responds with the proword I SAY AGAIN followed by the same modifier and then the requested part of the message. Fills can be requested for any part of the message, not just the text.

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Other Helpful Prowords• SPEAK SLOWER, requests the sending

station to slow down.• WORDS TWICE, requests the sending

station to say everything twice. Usually used when conditions are difficult.

• DISREGARD THIS TRANSMISSION– Oops– Never mind– My bad

ICS Message Traffic

• ICS FORM 213 may be used when working with other agencies using ICS protocol for tactical messages. The information is the same, but its organized a bit differently

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ICS Form 213

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CAP R 100-3 ATTACHMENT 2 – MESSAGE PASSING CHECKLIST • Message element in CAP messages will be ordered as follows:

1. The call sign(s) of the station(s) called

2. The proword THIS IS

•3. The call sign of the sending station (your call sign)

•4. The proword MESSAGE

•5. The proword NUMBER, followed by numerals assigned by the originator, indicating the serial number or message number of the message. Optional for transmitting station.

•6. The precedence (PRIORITY, ROUTINE, etc.).

•7. The proword TIME followed by the six digit day and time, the proword ZULU, the month (three letter abbreviation) and the last two digits of the year (ddhhmmZ MMM YY)

•8. The proword FROM and the originator's information (office symbol, address, telephone number, etc.).

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ATTACHMENT 2 – MESSAGE PASSING CHECKLIST (Con’t)•9. The proword TO [action addressee] and the recipient's information (office symbol, address, telephone number, etc.).

•10. The proword INFO [non-action addressee(s)]and the recipient's information (This element is optional)

•11. The proword SUBJECT (This element is optional)

•12. The proword GROUPS (if applicable) with numeral(s) indicating the number of groups in the text of the message (This element is optional) •13. The proword BREAK (to notify the receiving station that this is the end of the heading and the text follows)

•14. The text of the message

•15. The proword BREAK (to notify the receiving station that the text is complete)

•16. Any operator notes

•17. The proword OVER The message always ends with OVER

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Questions

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