“ARECC Level III Lesson”

Not every region of the country has a strong and regular need for Amateur Radio emergency communications.

However a varied menu of frequent disasters from the Carolina’s, south through Florida and the Gulf states know that serious hurricanes are quite likely, along with the frequent floods and tornados that continue to plague the Midwest and Southeast US.

But what about states with minimal exposure? For instance, while Arkansas and Missouri have the potential for an occasional, flood, or tornado or earthquake, serious events are rare.

Building and maintaining an active and well prepared ARES/RACES team in these regions is a much greater challenge, because most hams can find “better” things to do than prepare for an event that may never happen. Although you may believe that you should be prepared for that rare eventuality anyway, it may be difficult to convince enough others to set aside the time it takes to make a full-sized and capable team a reality because as a rule most amateurs assume that their existing radio skills are enough to be able to provide effective emergency communications. Those with real emergency Communication experience know this is not true. Emergency Communication requires a very different skill set, and one that requires regular practice to maintain.

A Different Approach to Preparedness

For many years the ARRL has quietly suggested the “cadre” concept. A cadre is a smaller group of key people. Think of it as the “officers without troops.” They form the core of a larger “ad-hoc” response. Instead of maintaining a large group of volunteers at maximum readiness, the core cadre might include only four or five motivated and highly trained operators. Each member must be able to handle many different jobs, and have a wide range of operating skills.

Key among these skills is the ability to train spontaneous volunteers, those who just “show up” when the need arises. While large and well-organized groups generally consider these volunteers a nuisance and liability, they are essential to the cadre concept. Each member of the cadre must be able to evaluate and train these spontaneous volunteers quickly, and thus increase the level of the response.

Keep Teams Interested and Ready

While it is certainly easier to find a smaller number of self-motivated volunteers, even the most dedicated volunteers need to get some satisfaction from a mostly thankless task. This can happen in a number of ways. First, just by virtue of being a smaller group, each person has greater responsibility for the team’s readiness. Each person will have more than one duty. In addition, smaller teams are often viewed as an elite group. You can be a bit more selective if your team is viewed as the “best of the best.” However, be sure you do not become a closed group as this will result in stagnation and eventual failure.

Cross-training is an essential element of the cadre concept. By this, we mean that all members should be trained in all areas, and able to perform any task with equal ease. If any one member isn’t available, any other member should be able to do their job. Cross-training also reduces the chances that any team member will become bored with his job!

Organizing the Response

By necessity, most every response will be graduated. Do not worry; your served agency will likely be facing similar challenges. Emergency Management agencies in low-risk areas seldom plan or train adequately for low-probability events. In fact, our teams may be the most prepared element of an overall response.

The first level of any response should be geared to meeting essential served agency needs, and recruiting and managing the intake of spontaneous volunteers. This will require that one or more trained members be assigned to each task area. For instance, several members might establish basic communication links for the agency and a resource net, while others set up the staging area and prepare to deal with spontaneous volunteers. If the event promises to be large or lengthy, consider calling adjacent areas for an ARESMAT response.

As spontaneous volunteers and ARESMAT teams begin to arrive, the response can be expanded to meet agency needs more completely. The EC or other person in charge of the Emergency Communications response should not become directly involved with message handling or other “hands on” tasks, their job should be to concentrate instead on organizing the response and supervising operations.

Using Walk on Volunteers

A plan to effectively utilize these volunteers is essential, since any large-scale or extended event will quickly overwhelm a small cadre. Since spontaneous volunteers may have little or no Emergency Communications training or experience, this plan should include some expedient training in operations and organization. A set of prepared handouts can help a great deal, but a certain amount of live instruction will still be essential to ensure that fundamentals are clearly understood. Incoming volunteers can be directed to a separate staging area for orientation and training before being assigned to an emergency Communication job. One or more well trained members should staff the staging area. Their duties will be to conduct volunteer intake, briefing, training, and make field assignments. Intake should include filling out a form with basic personal information, also listing any emergency Communications experience or other skills and credentials. The form should include their driver’s license number and emergency next of kin contact information. Never ask for or record Social Security numbers unless requested by the served agency for purposes of Worker’s Compensation insurance. Keep all such information secure and private. This should be followed by a brief face-to-face interview to determine where best to utilize the volunteer. If you are unfamiliar with the volunteer, ask to see a copy of their FCC license and any other important credentials. Do not forget to ask about their equipment, supplies, and how long they are available. When building an ARES/RACES Organization, you are not required to accept everyone who offers to help. Those with questionable backgrounds or personalities should be politely turned down. Once the suitability of a volunteer is determined, training and orientation should take place either individually or in groups as the situation dictates. Since the volunteer may be operating alone at some point, without someone to answer questions or set an example, the training, orientation, and handouts should be as comprehensive as time allows. Training should cover generic skills, and include message form usage, message handling procedures, and how directed nets function. The orientation should deal with the specifics of the incident, including likely duration, frequencies, net structure, specific safety issues, information about the served agency’s needs, contacts in the agency and emergency Communication organization, and personal needs such as food, rest breaks, etc..

Walk on Volunteer Assignments

During advance planning, clearly define as many jobs for spontaneous volunteers as you can. Make a list of relevant skills and information that will need to be provided. The best initial assignment for an inexperienced volunteer is alongside a more experienced operator. In essence, trained members will teach the new volunteers the skills needed to carry on while their shift is in progress. In general, spontaneous volunteers should be assigned jobs that require less skill and experience.

“Go Kits”

Most hams cannot justify keeping a completely redundant set of equipment in a go-kit full time, particularly when it will seldom if ever be needed. Some Amateur Radio gear is just too expensive. However, you can keep a minimal go-kit ready without great expense. The kit should contain small items and essentials, and a detailed checklist for large, expensive, or perishable items. Radios, antennas, power supplies, and other costly items can be added to the kit at the last minute. Smaller items should be in the kit already, since these are more difficult to locate and more time consuming to pack at the last minute. Try not to raid this kit when you need something, so that it will always be ready to go when needed.

Modified Partial Go-Kit (Vary according to your needs)

• Wire antennas

• Coaxial cables

• 2m or dual-band twin-lead J-pole

• Materials to string or support antennas

• Headphones

• Small tool kit

• Electrical and duct tape

• Spare batteries (alkaline)

• Message and log forms

• Frequency and net lists

• Call-up phone tree list

• Copy of ARES Communications Plan and SOP for your area

• Telephone numbers and contact info for agencies and Section ARES leaders

• Copy of FCC license

• Non-perishable snacks, emergency water packs

• Small first aid kit

• A complete checklist of all the expensive items NOT kept in the kit, such as radios, power supplies, and tuners

• Expedient training materials for spontaneous volunteers

Other Activities and Ideas

With few real emergencies, even the most dedicated team will lose interest over time. One way to keep your crew ready to go is to involve them in other activities that are related to emergency communication. The more challenging public service events have enough in common with emergency communications that they provide an excellent training ground.

Create innovative training exercises, experiment with new modes, and run emergency Communication courses and drills for local ham radio clubs. This is a great way to attract new members, who might be looking for something entirely new to try. If your members are willing and able to travel on occasion, perhaps you could establish a long-distance ARESMAT relationship with another ARES group in a high-risk area.