Section 1 - ARES / RACES Organization
I. WELCOME
Welcome to the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) / Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) organization. You have joined a group of amateur radio operators who have dedicated some of their skills and time to providing public service emergency communications here in and, in some disaster cases, other parts of the state. As indicated above, this is a dual organization (ARES/RACES). When you registered for ARES you also registered for RACES. We will be explaining the differences between the two and how they come together at the local level. We are sure you will have a lot of fun and satisfaction working with ARES/RACES and want to thank you in advance for your willingness to participate.
II. INTRODUCTION
Public-service communications have been a traditional responsibility of the Amateur Radio Service since 1913, when amateurs at the University of Michigan and Ohio State University, in conjunction with numerous individual amateurs in and around the region, successfully bridged the communications gap surrounding a large isolated area left by a severe windstorm in the Midwest. In those early days, such disaster work was spontaneous and without previous organization of any kind. In today's Amateur Radio, disaster work is a highly organized and very worthwhile part of day-to-day operation, implemented principally through the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS), both sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) and other amateur public-service groups are also a part of ARRL-recognized Amateur Radio public-service efforts. ARES now consists of over 80,000 licensed amateurs who have registered their availability for emergency operation in the public interest. The operational leadership of ARES consists of over 2,200 local and district emergency coordinators (ECs), along with section ECs.
The NTS operates daily to handle local, medium and long-distance written traffic in standard ARRL format. NTS consists of nets at four levels, with lines of liaison connecting them for the systematic flow of message traffic from point-of-origin to point-of-delivery in the shortest possible time consistent with organization training objectives and mass handling.
A separate subpart of the U.S. amateur regulations (Part 97, Subpart E) provides for the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service. RACES is a special phase of amateur operation sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and applies to U.S. amateurs only.
The primary purpose of RACES is to provide amateurs with a special opportunity to serve governmental civil preparedness agencies. ARRL has signed a memorandum of understanding with FEMA to enhance the coordination of ARRL and FEMA resources. - Forward from the "Public Service Communications Manual" by Luck Hurder, KY1T and published by ARRL.
III. ARES
A. Eligibility
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible for membership in ARES. The only qualification, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve. Because ARES is an amateur service, only amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.
B. Organization
There are four levels of ARES organization -- national, section, district, and local.
National emergency coordination at ARRL Headquarters is under the supervision of the ARRL Field Services Manager, who is responsible for advising all ARES officials regarding their problems, maintaining contact with federal government and other national officials concerned with amateur emergency communications potential, and in general with carrying out the League's policies regarding emergency communications.
At the section level, the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) is appointed by the Section Manager (who is elected by the ARRL members in his/her section) and works under his/her supervision. In most sections, The Section Manager (SM) delegates to the SEC, the administration of the section emergency plan and the authority to appoint District Emergency Coordinators (DEC) and local Emergency Coordinators (EC).
It is at the local level where most of the real emergency organizing gets accomplished, because this is the level at which most emergencies occur and the level at which ARES officialdom makes direct contact with the ARES member-volunteers and with officials of the agencies to be served. The local EC is therefore the key person in ARES. The EC is appointed by the SEC, usually on the recommendation of the District Emergency Coordinator (DEC, discussed later). Depending on how the SEC has set up the section for administrative purposes, the EC may have jurisdiction over a small community or a large city, an entire county or even a group of counties. Whatever jurisdiction is assigned, the EC is in charge of all ARES activities in his/her area, not just one interest group, one agency, one club or one band. Now that we have looked at the top of the section organization and at the local level where the actual communications take place, we should recognize that in the large sections the local groups could proliferate to the point where simply keeping track of them would be more than a full-time chore, not to mention the idea of trying to coordinate them in an actual emergency. To this end, SECs have the option of grouping their EC jurisdictions into logical units or "districts" and appointing a District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) to coordinate the activities of the local ECs in the district. In some cases, the districts may conform to the boundaries of governmental planning or emergency-operations districts, while in others they are simply based on repeater coverage or geographical boundaries.
C. Scope and Limitations
As shown in the organizational diagram of Figure 1-1, ARES provides emergency communications for non-governmental organizations (public and private) and local governmental agencies in times of "non-declared" emergencies or disasters. Operation is governed by a local ARES plan, interfaced to an overall county Emergency Management Plan. Local authority to activate ARES is held by the ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC) or Assistant ECs. The manager of the Department of Emergency Services (DES) may also request activation via the Emergency Coordinator or Assistant ECs. It is important to recognize that ARES is organized to provide communication services only. Amateur radio operators on ARES duty are not expected to serve any other function.
IV. NTS
A discussion of the National Traffic System (NTS) organization is beyond the scope of this training manual and will not be covered. Certain traffic handling procedures are covered in Section 4 of the manual.
V. RACES
A. History
After World War II, when it became evident that the international situation was destined to be tense and the need for some civil-defense measures become apparent, successive government agencies designated to head up such a program called on amateur representatives to participate. In the discussions that followed, amateurs were interested in getting two points across: first, that Amateur Radio had a potential for and capability of playing a major role in this program; and second, that our participation should, this time as never before, be in our own name, as an Amateur Radio Service, even if and after war should break out. These principles were included in the planning by the formulation of regulations creating a new branch of the amateur service, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, RACES.
B. Eligibility
RACES is a radio communication service, conducted by volunteer licensed amateurs, providing emergency communications to local or state civil-preparedness agencies.
Amateurs operating in a local RACES organization must be officially enrolled in that local civil-preparedness agency. Generally, all other requirements for eligibility in RACES are the same as for ARES.
C. Scope and Limitations
As shown in the organizational diagram of Figure 1-1, RACES, administered by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the United States government is part of the Amateur Radio Service that provides radio communications to governmental agencies in times of officially "declared" emergencies or disasters. Operation is governed by local and state RACES plans, both interfaced to county and state Emergency Management Plans. Local authority to activate RACES is held by the local RACES Officer (RO) at the direction of the manager of the local Department of Emergency Services (DES) or the state RACES Officer in cooperation with the local DES manager. While operating in a RACES capacity, RACES stations and amateurs registered in the local RACES organization may not communicate with amateurs not operating in a RACES capacity. Only official governmental communications can be transmitted (as defined in Section 97.191 of the FCC Rules). Test and drills are permitted only for a maximum of one hour per week. (Of course, these restrictions do not apply when such stations are operating in non-RACES - such as ARES - capacity.)
It is important to recognize that RACES is organized to provide communication services only. Amateur radio operators on RACES duty are not expected to serve any other function.
VI. ARES/RACES
Although ARES and RACES are separate entities, the ARRL advocates dual membership and cooperative efforts between both groups whenever possible. The RACES regulations now make it simple and possible for an ARES group, whose members are all enrolled in and certified by RACES, to operate in an emergency with great flexibility. Using the same operators and the same frequencies, an ARES group, also enrolled as RACES, can "switch hats" from ARES to RACES and RACES to ARES to meet the requirements of the situation as it develops. For example, during a "non-declared" emergency, the group can operate under ARES, but when an emergency or disaster is officially declared by a state or federal authority, the operation can become RACES with no change in personnel, equipment, or frequencies.
This concept is still not well understood and accepted throughout the United States; both ARES and RACES still exist separately in many areas. As mentioned at the beginning of this Section, uses the flexibility of the dual organization.
IMPORTANT! You are not registered with the ARES/RACES organization until you have received Department of Emergency Services identification badge. These badges are required to be worn during all emergency operations and exercises. If you do not have the required ID you may be denied access to the disaster area or communication facilities and may not be covered by state insurance as an emergency worker. You should also carry a current copy of your Amateur Radio License.
· Section 2 of this manual contains a current copy of the local ARES/RACES plan.
· Appendix E contains current copies of the county and state ARES/RACES plans.
· Note: Portions of this Section were adapted from "Public Service Communications Manual" published by ARRL.
Identification Badges
Sample
Sample