More than radio communication, preparedness and people serving their community.
Reliable communication is something most of us rarely think about until it becomes difficult.
During a community event, effective communication helps volunteers coordinate activities, pass information and respond when assistance is needed. During an emergency or disaster, when normal systems may become congested, damaged or unavailable, having additional methods of communication can become considerably more important.
This is the idea at the heart of REACT Team 6006.
Based in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, Team 6006 is a volunteer organization dedicated to public service through communications, emergency preparedness, training and community involvement.
What does “Public Service Through Communications” mean?
For Team 6006, communications is not an end in itself. A radio is only useful when there are trained and responsible people behind it who know how to communicate effectively and use the information being passed.
Our constitution establishes the development and use of two-way radio communications as an additional resource for community activities, emergencies, disasters and emergency assistance. It also provides for communications support to community organizations, non-governmental organizations, emergency-management agencies, local authorities and other organizations where appropriate.
In practice, this can mean volunteers positioned at different locations maintaining contact, passing information between personnel, reporting changing conditions, assisting with coordination, or providing an additional communications capability when required.
The technology matters, but the network is ultimately made up of people.
A Tradition of Volunteer Communications
REACT's presence in Trinidad and Tobago goes back decades.
The surviving incorporation certificate records the incorporation of Radio Emergency Associated Citizen Team of Trinidad and Tobago Limited on 22 November 1977.
Team 6006 became formally chartered by REACT International on 1 March 1999 as REACT County Victoria/St Patrick, based in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.
Its original charter reflects the communications environment of the period, emphasizing volunteer two-way radio communications and citizens-band emergency monitoring.
Technology has changed considerably since then. Mobile phones, digital communications and the Internet have transformed how people communicate. The underlying problem REACT was created to address, however, has not disappeared:
How do people communicate and coordinate effectively when it matters?
That question continues to guide Team 6006.
Communications When They Matter
Modern telecommunications are extraordinarily capable, but no communications system is infallible.
Severe weather, flooding, electrical outages, damaged infrastructure, network congestion and other emergencies can affect the systems people normally depend upon.
Independent radio communications can provide another option.
Team 6006 therefore promotes the development of communications skills, equipment knowledge and operating procedures that can contribute to greater communications resilience.
This doesn't mean replacing established emergency services or telecommunications systems. Our role is to provide an additional volunteer communications resource that can support communities and organizations when appropriate.
That distinction is actually consistent with the wording of the Team's constitution, which describes two-way radio as an “additional resource option” during community activities, emergencies and disasters.
Community Service Is Part of Preparedness
Not every REACT activity involves an emergency nor should it.
Team 6006 participates in community activities and public events where volunteers can assist with communications, coordination and other forms of support.
These activities serve the community while giving members something equally valuable: experience.
Equipment can be tested. Radio coverage can be understood. Members learn how to communicate clearly. Procedures can be practiced. Volunteers learn how to work together, and weaknesses can be discovered when the consequences are considerably lower than during an actual emergency.
Preparedness isn't something that begins when a disaster occurs.
It is built beforehand.
Training and Developing Our Members
Team 6006's objectives include continued training and improvement in radio communications, first response, safety, disaster preparedness and shelter-management skills. Its constitution also assigns responsibility for training, operating procedures, protocols, equipment and evolving technologies to the Team's Technical and Training function.
Our members come from different backgrounds and bring different levels of experience.
Some have decades of experience with two-way radio, CB or amateur radio. Others join with little communications experience but bring useful professional, administrative, technical, logistical or community-service skills.
REACT provides an environment in which that knowledge can be shared, and new volunteers can develop practical skills.
You don't have to begin as a radio expert.
You have to be willing to learn, participate and serve responsibly.
Working Together
No individual volunteer group can respond to every situation on its own.
Team 6006 is affiliated with the REACT Council of Trinidad and Tobago (RTTC), and our governing documents provide for cooperation with other REACT teams.
Our mission also recognizes the importance of supporting and cooperating with community organizations, NGOs, emergency-management organizations, governmental authorities and other groups involved in serving the public.
Good communications depend on interoperability between equipment.
Good emergency response depends on something similar between people and organizations.
Both require cooperation.
Continuing the Mission
The communications environment of 2026 is very different from the one in which Team 6006 was chartered in 1999.
The tools will continue to change.
What should not change is the principle behind them.
Team 6006 seeks to preserve the tradition of volunteer public-service communications while continuing to develop the knowledge, skills, equipment and relationships needed to remain relevant to the communities we serve.
Whether supporting a community activity, developing radio skills, participating in training or preparing for situations where ordinary communications may be disrupted, our objective remains straightforward:
Be prepared. Communicate effectively. Serve the community.
REACT Team 6006 — Public Service Through Communications.