ALL portions of the HF spectrum have uses by agencies ranging from government, military, and civilian agencies. Understanding how, for example, 11 Meters could be of use to other than CB operators is either taught by experience or by formal training in communications and propagation characteristics of the HF spectrum (which we are dealing with here). Communications planners, military and civilian, make use of spectrum based on what frequencies will do the job at the time. For example, you recall that Moleculo had a discussion about "ALE" (Auto-Link Extablishment) on these pages some time ago. For example, military HF equipment is FAR more sophisticated than we in the civilian world know! For example, ALE is not USED in the same way we are accustomed to using our CB and ham radios. WE select a specific channel in a specific band and start talking. Not so with ALE. The ALE protocol usually sends out "sampling" or "handshake" signals on various bands. YOU, the operator, may not necesarily KNOW what frequency you are using within your assigned bands; the radios have "shaken hands" with each other, or locked onto each other and when you pick up the mike, the radios within the net (Network) are "talking" to each other with tone signals, etc, and you pass your traffic.
So why would 11 Meters, for example, be "worth" anything "in this day and age"? A LOT, actually!!!! IF a military network has traffic and 26.443 is one of their frequencies within their hundreds (or thousands) of frequencies spread from 2.0 and 50 MHZ, and it is telling the ALE system that, "Hey, THIS frequency is the one that will BEST carry the traffic right now", then it IS important---even if the connection is fleeting. The ALE radios may then instantly "shake hands" on 20 MHZ and lock on there while the operators copying traffic have no knowledge, nor NEED to know, of what frequency he is using.
In a non-ALE system, it relies on training, knowledge of propagation, and the requirements of net traffic to determine what frequency one might use. One example is, using that 26 MHZ frequency again, while CB operators, usually untrained in such matters, think only of "how FAR am I getting out", the military comm. officer might choose that 11 Meter frequency for the OPPOSITE reason. Perhaps, he has highly utilized VHF circuits and needs a low-power, very LOCALIZED HF system, so he chooses 26 Megs at the 5 watt level. He chose that because it minimizes the load on other frequencies. He can put one aircraft on a VHF simplex channel, another on another, then he can assign yet another to use a low power portable on HF. Perhaps he has a vehicle in a certain sector, and he wants to keep the missions separate on another HF frequency. ALL this keeps his forces organized, yet separated, and keeps down circuit loads and confusion. It may also offer a measure of comm. security. If there is some disaster within CONUS, the news media is always snooping, ready to blab everything they hear. So they come with SCANNERS, and YES! They hear traffic, some of which may be in the clear. Most of it will be encoded, tho. Many of them DON'T have Single SIDEBAND "scanners". SO, we can transmit, still encoded for extra security, and all they hear is a garbled mess!!! Makes' em SOOO MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
That's one reason that the military and government have 11 Meter assignments. There ARE no "extra" channels, and there ARE good reasons for the assignments within 11 Meters.
73
CWM
