100 Years on MARS: Providing communication for military aircraft around the globe

Published July 8, 2025
By Rachel Sansano
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --

From calls home during the Vietnam War, to pilots flying over the Pacific today, MARS has been connecting America’s military for 100 years.
Since its beginning in 1925, the core mission of the Military Auxiliary Radio System has remained the same: keep our military connected, no matter what.

AFMARS Armed Forces Day Crossband Test — David Antry, Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System chief, positions a rope for the installation of a high-frequency antenna on Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, May 10, 2025. Established in 1925, AFMARS has spent a century ensuring American service members can communicate across continents, even in the most remote and contested environments. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rachel Sansano)

“The mission of MARS is to provide contingency backup communications. If SATCOM radios go out, then [pilots] can jump on the high-frequency radio,” explained Dave Antry, Air Force MARS chief. “Most of our aircraft have high-frequency radios in them. Pilots can call into one of our MARS radio operators, and request to make a phone call,” said Antry.

The system supports a range of mission communications for aircraft, including updating bases on arrival times, troubleshooting aircraft issues with maintenance crews, helping with medical evacuation, or even morale calls to mom and dad.

The Legacy: Lifelines and Letters Home
MARS was born out of the Army Amateur Radio System, created to train skilled radio operators for the U.S. military. During times of conflicts, MARS became a lifeline—for missions and morale.

Service members thousands of miles from home relied on MARS to make phone calls during a deployment.

“Back during the Vietnam War, if you were an enlisted guy or gal, and you wanted to talk to your family, this is how you did it. Every base, and a lot of the small, semi-permanent outposts had MARS stations on them,” said Richard George, MARS liaison.

Families would receive a letter in the mail with a specific date and time. Then, through a carefully orchestrated chain of high-frequency radios and operators, voices connected across the world.

“We did that when my dad was in Vietnam in the ‘60s. I was 3 years old. We’d wait by the phone for that call. At the time, I didn't know it was MARS, I thought he was on the phone on the other end,” remembers Mark Bagley, a current AFMARS operator.

MARS Today
Fast-forward to 2025, and AFMARS is an auxiliary program under Air Combat Command, powered by 500 amateur radio operators who volunteer their time, expertise, and equipment.

Volunteers provide emergency communications capabilities, providing a backup network in case of disasters or outages, keeping communication flowing when traditional systems might be unavailable.

“On average we do around 1,000-1,500 patches a year,” said Antry. “That’s about three to four a day.” These patches help pilots handle anything from radio checks to inflight emergencies.

On any given day, six ground stations are actively on air, scanning multiple frequencies. When an aircraft makes contact, all stations rate the signal strength and one station—designated as net control—assigns the call for action.

“When an aircraft calls into the blind they’ll call ‘MARS radio, MARS radio, MARS radio, this is…’,” said George. “Net control [...] will then assign that [pilot’s] call to one of the ground stations who will go back to the aircraft.”

Operators run stations from their homes across the continental United States and Hawaii, forming a wide-reaching, high-frequency network that ensures coverage anywhere military aircraft may fly.

The program’s contribution is recognized by the highest levels of the Department of Defense, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. “These operators provide an essential contingency communications capability to our men and women in uniform, the Department of Defense, the U.S. government and the American people,” said Hegseth, in a message that was read to all MARS operators during their Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Event.

There is one paid position in the AFMARS program. The rest are volunteers. They bring their own radios, meet quarterly participation requirements, and undergo formal training to ensure mission readiness.

For Antry, leading AFMARS is a full circle moment.

“I first joined MARS in 1983 as a volunteer. I went into the Air Force in 1985, and when I went to MEPS, I said I want to be a MARS operator.” When he was told that wasn’t a possibility, Antry started working in electronic warfare. After retiring from the service, Antry was asked if he would be interested in becoming the Chief of AFMARS. His response was, “well I won't say no.”

Now, 40 years later, he’s right where he wants to be.

“I’m getting to do the job that I wanted to do, all along from the very beginning,” he said.

Scott AFB’s Role in MARS
The AFMARS headquarters is located at Scott Air Force Base, within the Cyber Capabilities Center. Every year on Armed Forces Day, local volunteers set up a high-frequency station at Scott Lake for their Annual Crossband Test. The event gives radio operators a chance to demonstrate their skills by making live contacts with operators across the U.S., completing phone patches with aircraft, and receiving messages from senior defense leaders.

AFMARS also supports four Joint communication exercises annually, along with three Air Force specific exercises. These events help sharpen the team’s skills and ensure they’re ready to respond when a call comes.

Whether it’s helping a pilot get a critical message to command or patching a voice from 30,000 feet through to family back home, MARS continues to make a difference.

To learn more or apply to join, visit https://community.apan.org/wg/afmars.