STARS Encryption

On the Thornburg site of STARS (Virginia's statewide digital radio system), I monitored the VA Department of Emergency Management Ops 1 talkgroup (2407) a few days ago. One person was advising a field unit to press a softkey marked "SEC" on his radio. After this, several of their transmissions were encrypted. They then went back to "open" mode. I believe this is the first time I've heard encryption on STARS, but it's not too surprising.

(The Thornburg and Fork Mountain sites may be in range of those in the Northern Virginia/DC area, particularly with a good antenna.)