You get on an elevator wearing something with an ARES logo, and another occupant asks, “So what is ARES?”

We have a good number of new hams in our midst and some of you are active in ARES. But I wonder if we are all on the same page as to what it’s all about.

So I did a little digging around on the ARRL site and some other ARES sites and want to share some of what I learned about… US.

Here is the official ARRL elevator speech…

Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES)

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment with their local ARES leadership for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.

ARES Membership Requirements

Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an Amateur Radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.

So that’s the take from the overarching organization that provides for our establishment and sets the guidelines by which we provide our public service. I tend to call it community service, as I understand ARES is a good vehicle to give back to our communities using our skills as radio operators.

We have adopted the North Texas Section’s training workbook to aid us and establish minimum requirements for our volunteer operators. A copy of the workbook can be downloaded and printed from this website. The goal of this effort is to set out some guidelines so our served agencies have an understanding of our training and capabilities, and that they are documented. This is an important attribute to the Response community, whether governmental, civic or charitable. So the phrase in the ARRL statement “Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES” makes our organization acceptable to the community we serve. While you can still volunteer for our operation without completing any of the workbook, we will encourage you make efforts to move through it. You don’t have to go to the Advanced level. If you are fine with the Basic skill level so are we. Just realize some tasks will necessarily be assigned with these levels in mind.

Our leadership both Local and State does have concern for you as a volunteer, as is evidenced by the following statement, again from ARRL about our volunteering…

If you’re an individual Emergency Communication volunteer…

• You need to be trained. In order to provide support in the event of an emergency — or even in a non-emergency situation — you need to have the proper training and licensing.

• You need to be equipped with sustaining skills. What if when you get to a location, there is no food and the sleeping conditions are undesirable? Before you leave on your assignment, you need to make sure you have coping skills that enable you to be able to do your job operating under the conditions you are assigned to — from hardship conditions to making sure you’re able to work the equipment.

• You need to prepare your family for your absence. When you leave home and head for a disaster area, your family has to be both physically and mentally able to cope. After a disaster, when a volunteer comes home, he or she can be confronted by some mental health issues, for which there are several resources. Many volunteers experience everything from fatigue or exhaustion to depression.

We need you able, ready and prepared for the tasks we can be faced with. Fortunately we have not had to deal with collapsing buildings, city block fires, and terrorist attacks, but such disasters happen around us. We could be called to provide mutual aid; that is, we could be asked to go help in a Moore, OK tornado-type situation, multiple aircraft crash, or earthquake and building collapse. Not everyone is prepared for that. Some operators have worked 20-plus hour days in these events and seen some things that can be disturbing — reread that last bullet point.

Our served partners, AECs, and I care very much about each of you and hope you will consider all these points as you continue to volunteer to serve our community. You have set an even stronger reputation over the past few months. I have commented in other notes to you about your work being noticed in many areas of our community. If you’re new to all this check in on our Nets, train with us, and use the tools on the TECO website. For you old timers, let’s continue to work together and provide the high level of topnotch communications assistance you have demonstrated over the past months.

It’s my pleasure to work with you.

73
Rick
K5ECX