Coming soon – testing Doomsday

The Emergency Broadcast System (now called EAS) was created to use a network of radio and TV stations to alert the public in the event of an emergency.

Other than the monthly tests we’ve all heard, participation in EAS is voluntary with one very important exception.   Upon sending the correct code, every radio and TV station (and now satellite TV and Cable TV) can be taken over by the President of the United States.  This capability is automatic  and mandatory – the stations have no control nor discretion in the matter.   When the President pushes the button, every TV and Radio station is under his immediate control.

This Doomsday capability was built into EBS with the idea that in the event of nationwide emergency (like an all out launch of nuclear weapons), the President could take over control of the entire country’s communications and tell us to put our heads between our legs and kiss our posteriors goodbye.   Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that in an emergency, the last thing government will do is tell the public.   We’ll clog the roads, empty the supermarkets, all try to fill our gasoline tanks at the same time, overwhelm the phone systems, break into businesses and take stuff, etc…  

So we have this charade – on September 11, 2001, activating EAS wasn’t remotely on anyone’s mind as something to do, even in the New York City local area.

This national EAS capability has never been tested.   A station in Chicago once accidentally activated it, taking many (but not all) stations in the Chicago area off the air.    There is no way to really test it, and no way to prove it would work if it isn’t tested.

EAS is being updated to provide more capabilities (like video and closed captioning), so plans are underway to do an actual test of the entire nationwide system.   Since this may be quite alarming, they’re going to warn people ahead of time.   Consider this your first warning.