Amateur Radio Emergency Service

In the United States and Canada, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a corps of trained amateur radio operator volunteers organized to assist in public service and emergency communications. It is organized and sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC).

Communication failures have been a defining part of natural disasters and even some human-generated events. Amateur radio provides a means of communication "when all else fails".

Historical operations

Amateur radio operators belonging to ARES (and its predecessor, the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps) have responded to local and regional disasters since the 1930s, including the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the category 5 storms Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Michael, and the Joplin tornado. During the Katrina event, more than one thousand ARES volunteers assisted in the aftermath and provided communications for the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and other individuals related to the relief effort.

ARES has deployed for a variety of other emergencies and disasters, including the 2003 North America blackout. The blackout covered a wide geographical area of North America. In the United States its scope included Cleveland, Detroit, and New York City. Landline telephones and cell phone systems were overloaded and amateur ability to operate off the grid was put to the test. On Long Island in New York many pieces of health and welfare traffic were passed on VHF and HF nets. Because some television and radio stations had gone off the air amateurs helped fill the lack of information.

Organizational structure

ARES groups are volunteer amateur radio operators who come together for the common purpose of providing emergency and/or auxiliary communications service to public safety and public service organizations. Most individual ARES units are autonomous and operate locally. Although the Amateur Radio Emergency Service is a program (and trademark) of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in the U.S., the structure is more supportive than directive in nature, providing mostly for mutual aid in the event of large-scale emergencies. As long as local units are operating in the best interests of Amateur Radio in general and the ARRL in particular, intervention from the national organization is minimal. The government expresses little governance of ARES (other than the FCC regulations - 47 CFR Part 97 - which regulate all of Amateur Radio) and local authorities only passively regulate ARES groups by way of formal understandings.

ARES groups are generally organized by city or county and are made up of volunteers from the local area. The only requirements to join ARES are a willingness to serve and a valid amateur radio license.

A few U.S. Amateur Radio emergency communications groups have decided, for one reason or another, not to affiliate with the ARRL. Some such groups in Canada have elected not to offer their services under the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) banner. However, their essential purpose remains the same and, in times of need, they often work side-by-side with ARES groups. Radio clubs independent of the ARRL or the RAC and ARES also participate in emergency communications activities in some areas.

Many ARES operators are also part of storm spotter networks, e.g., Skywarn (a program organized by the U.S. National Weather Service) and Canwarn (coordinated by Environment Canada).

In many cases, the ARES Emergency Coordinator for a county coordinates all local Amateur Radio emergency and disaster communications activity.

References

Bibliography

External links

Amateur Radio Emergency Service home page
(Radio Amateurs of Canada) Amateur Radio Emergency Service
Kentucky Amateur Radio Emergency Service home page
RVSU (Radio Amateurs in Emergency Situations, Romania)

Historical operations

Organizational structure

See also

References

Bibliography

External links