Military Auxiliary Radio System

Lore & Background

The organization that led to the Military Auxiliary Radio System was the Auxiliary Amateur Radio System (AARS), created in November 1925 by a few pioneers in the United States Army Signal Corps led by Captain Thomas C. Rives. The Army Amateur Radio System was formed to provide a pool of trained radio operators to augment the Signal Corps during mobilization in time of war and to support civil authority with natural disaster relief efforts. The organization succeeded in developing operator proficiency but was underdeveloped in numbers on the eve of World War II. Radio amateurs were denied use of the airwaves after 7 December 1941, and the amateur service and AARS were deactivated. Following WWII, the US Army recognized the importance of reactivating the AARS, and in 1946 it was reactivated. The AARS functioned until the creation of the Military Affiliate Radio System in November 1948 with separate Army and Air Force programs, reflecting the creation of the Air Force as a separate service. Captain Robert L. Gabardy selected the acronym MARS, the Roman god of war. The name changed to Military Affiliate Radio System on 2 September 1952. The Navy-Marine Corps MARS program was established officially on 17 August 1962 and began operations on 1 January 1963, following the Cuban Missile Crisis. The program's name changed to the current Military Auxiliary Radio System on 23 December 2009. A dispatch in May 2009 announced the shutdown of Navy and Marine Corps MARS by September 30, 2009, but it continued until September 30, 2015.

Reader's Guide

The Military Auxiliary Radio System has a long history of providing worldwide auxiliary emergency communications during times of need. Its primary mission is to provide contingency communications to the Department of Defense and Military Services. MARS provides Department of Defense sponsored emergency communications on local, national, and international bases, and auxiliary communications for military entities only. A major mission has been handling morale, welfare, and official record and voice communications traffic for Armed Forces and authorized U.S. Government civilian personnel stationed worldwide. MARS establishes programs to create civilian interest, recruit qualified volunteers, and furnish training in military communications techniques and procedures. Every year, MARS conducts a military and amateur radio cross-band exercise as part of Armed Forces Day. MARS members test state-of-the-art technology through experimentation and testing. The traditional land or sea-based MARS Radio Phone Patch is largely a thing of the past, but modern military aircraft are still equipped with HF radios, and many military aircrews still use MARS Phone Patches as a backup or substitute to satellite communications. The USAF MARS Phone Patch Net provides 24/7 HF Radio Phone Patch service to all branches of United States military aircraft worldwide.

Did You Know?

• The acronym MARS was selected by Captain Robert L. Gabardy, referencing the Roman god of war.
• The Navy-Marine Corps MARS program closed in 2015.
• The program's name was changed to Military Auxiliary Radio System on 23 December 2009.

From Signal Corps Pioneers to a National Auxiliary

In November 1925, a few dedicated pioneers within the United States Army Signal Corps, led by Captain Thomas C. Rives, established the Auxiliary Amateur Radio System. World War I had proven that radio was a critical mode of communication, yet the Army lacked a ready pool of skilled operators to supplement the Signal Corps during wartime mobilization. The new organization recruited volunteer civilians who were already accomplished amateur radio operators, tasking them with extending the Signal Corps' radio network across the continental United States, the Philippines, Panama, and Hawaii while also supporting civil authorities during natural disasters. The program proved effective at building operator proficiency, but by the eve of World War II its membership remained significantly underdeveloped in numbers to meet wartime manpower demands. When the United States entered the war on December 7, 1941, radio amateurs were denied the airwaves and the AARS was deactivated. The Army reactivated it in 1946, and in November 1948 the Military Affiliate Radio System was born as separate Army and Air Force programs. Captain Robert L. Gabardy chose the name MARS after the Roman god of war. The Navy-Marine Corps program followed in 1962, and in 2009 the organization received its current title: Military Auxiliary Radio System.

Marsgrams and Phone Patches: Keeping Families Connected

Throughout the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Gulf War, MARS became most widely recognized for two enduring services: handling Marsgram written messages and providing phone patches that allowed overseas servicemen to reach their families back home. These were not minor logistical tasks. They represented the emotional lifeline between deployed personnel and their loved ones, handled by civilian volunteers who applied their amateur radio expertise to military communications. The broader mission encompassed morale, welfare, and official record and voice communications traffic for Armed Forces members and authorized U.S. Government civilian personnel stationed throughout the world. MARS operated as a Department of Defense sponsored program, providing auxiliary communications for military entities only. The combined Army and Air Force programs maintained a volunteer force of over 3,000 dedicated and skilled amateur radio operators who formed the backbone of the system. Members worked under the guiding slogans Proudly Serving Those Who Serve and Proud, Professional, and Ready, reflecting a culture of service that bridged the civilian hobby of amateur radio with the serious demands of military communications support.

Survival, Rebranding, and the Auxiliary Status

In May 2009, a Department of Defense dispatch announced that the Navy and Marine Corps MARS program would be shut down by September 30 of that year. However, the program did not disappear on that date. Instead, it continued to function until September 30, 2015. The turning point came on December 23, 2009, when Department of Defense Instruction 4650.02 was issued, changing MARS's status from an affiliate to an auxiliary. This reclassification placed MARS on equal footing with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Civil Air Patrol, and critically, it saved the Navy-Marine Corps program from the announced closure. The new auxiliary status also realigned the Navy-Marine Corps program with the Emergency Communications mission that already defined its Army and Air Force sister services. The name was simultaneously updated to Military Auxiliary Radio System, a title that has remained in use since. The program's origins trace back to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when President Kennedy's concern for viable and extended communications capabilities prompted the establishment of the Navy-Marine Corps component, which began operations on January 1, 1963.

Armed Forces Day and the Annual Crossband Test

Every year, MARS marks Armed Forces Day with a traditional military-to-amateur crossband communications test paired with a message-receiving test. These exercises serve a dual purpose: they give amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners a chance to demonstrate their individual technical skills, and they provide an avenue for recognition from the Secretary of Defense or the appropriate military radio service. Beyond the annual event, MARS maintains a standing mission to establish programs that create civilian interest in military communications, recruit qualified volunteers, and furnish training in military communications techniques and procedures. Members also serve as a reserve of personnel trained in military radio communications, ready to initiate efforts to improve radio-operating techniques. The program encourages its volunteers to test state-of-the-art technology through experimentation and testing, ensuring that the skills developed in the amateur radio hobby translate directly into operational readiness. The main benefit of MARS membership, as the organization describes it, is enjoying the amateur radio hobby through an ever-expanding horizon of service to the nation.

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