The ARES Organizational Structure

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The ARES Organizational Structure

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.

The Section Level

At the section level, the Section Emergency Coordinator is appointed by the Section Manager (who is elected by the ARRL members in his or her section) and works under his/her supervision. In most sections, the SM delegates to the SEC the administration of the section emergency plan and the authority to appoint District and local ECs. Some of the ARRL sections with capable SECs are well-organized. A few have scarcely any organization at all. It depends almost entirely on who the section members have put into office as SM and whom he/she has appointed as SEC.

The Local Level

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 leaders make direct contact with the ARES member-volunteers and with officials of the agencies to be served. The local EC is therefore the key contact in the ARES. The EC is appointed by the SEC, usually on the recommendation of the DEC. 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 area, not just one interest group, one agency, one club or one band.

The District Level 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 EC 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. Figure 1 depicts the typical section ARES structure. Assistant ECs Special-interest groups are headed up by Assistant Emergency Coordinators, designated by the EC to supervise activities of groups operating in certain bands, especially those groups which play an important role at the local level, but they may be designated in any manner the EC deems appropriate.

Figure 1: A typical ARES section structure

In the SCCARES organization, several AEC positions have been created.

AEC for Administration

Routine Duties

The AEC for Administration is responsible for assisting the EC in day to day activities of the ARES group. They develop procedural manuals, operational support documentation, and other resources to support ARES activities. They also organize regular meetings on-the-air and in conference room settings. They may also serve as an alternate to the AEC as needed.

Disaster Duties

When the ARES group is activated, the AEC for Administration serves as an alternate to the EC. They assume overall management responsibility in the absence of the EC. They will share with the EC the responsibility for operations during declared disaster situations; normally, either the EC or the AEC for Administration will be available at all times during an operation.

AEC for Training

Routine Duties

The AEC for Training is responsible for developing and administering the training program for the members of the ARES group. They will provide classroom training sessions during regular ARES meetings, and conduct on-the-air training during regular ARES Net sessions and with special operational exercises. They will also develop training materials, reference manuals, and other operational aids. They will coordinate the use of materials for training from other sources.

Disaster Duties

When the ARES group is activated, the AEC for Training becomes the co-manager for personnel. They will work with the AEC for Human Resources in this regard.

AEC for Served Agencies Liason

Routine Duties

The AEC for Served Agencies Liason is responsible for establishing and maintaining liason with the Santa Cruz County, adjacent counties, and local governmental agencies, medical and disaster relief organizations. They will advise served agencies on ARES resources and capabilities. They determine the needs of the agencies and make recommendations for satisfying those requirements. They keep all ARES members informed of all changes in emergency relationships with served agencies, and coordinate meetings between served agencies and ARES staff.

Disaster Duties

When the ARES group is activated, the AEC for Served Agencies Liason serves as a second alternate to the EC, assuming special requirements as determined by the EC.

AEC for Packet Operations

Routine Duties

The AEC for Packet Operations is responsible for developing and maintaining the resource of Packet Radio stations and operators. They develop ongoing liasons with other ARES groups. They maintain a liason with the NTS, assuring a functioning relationship at all times for efficient handling of health and welfare traffic to and from the local area. They will also develop resources and plans providing for packet facilities to serve both tactical requirements and health and welfare.

Disaster Duties

When the ARES group is activated, the AEC for Packet Operations ensures that the packet radio network remains supportive of operational requirements.

AEC for Human Resources (Membership)

Routine Duties

The AEC for Human Resources is directly responsible for recruiting and registering members of the ARES group. In the process, they promote the ARES group to prospective members. They will maintain records of membership, technical qualifications, and equipment resources. They also process and distribute ID cards.

AEC for Equipment Resources

Routine Duties

The AEC for Equipment Resources maintains a liason with other ARES groups on matters of equipment resources. They negotiate agreements for the use of resources not under control of the ARES group. They provide equipment and other technical recommendations to the ARES members.

Disaster Duties

When the ARES group is activated, the AEC for Equipment Resources is responsible for the availability of replacement equipment for participating locations. They coordinate the emergency maintenance activites necessary to assure uninterrupted operations. They will determine the equipment requirements for temporary locations, aquiring and arranging for the installation of such equipment.

AEC for OES Operations

Routine Duties

The AEC for OES Operations qualifies an adequate staff of operators for the OES facility. They assure the availability of up-to-date operational reference data and operating aids, along with the continuing readiness of all OES facility equipment and personnel. They will determine new equipment requirements and make recommendations to the EC.

Disaster Duties

When the ARES group is activated, the AEC for OES Operations ensures that the required equipment remains operational.

AEC for ARES Van Operations

Routine Duties

The AEC for ARES Van Operations recruits and trains operators to drive and/or accompany the van to assigned locations during declared disasters. They work with the AEC for Equipment Resources to assure the continued maintenance of all communications equipment installed in the vehicle.

AEC for Public Information

Routine Duties

The AEC for Public Information is responsible for publicizing activities of the ARES group, both within the Amateur Radio community and to the public at large. They report on the activities of the ARES group through the newsletters of the local Amateur Radio Club. In the process, they prepare and disseminate press releases to Amateur Radio publications and the local news media. They will seek and promote media exposure for ARES activites and Amateur Radio in general. They develop visual aids for the presentation to area service groups and other organizations.

Disaster Duties

When the ARES group is activated, the AEC for Public Information aquires and records information regarding Amateur Radio participation during emergencies. They will gather and disseminate reports of the contributions made by the ARES group, coordinating with the county Public Information Officer (PIO). They perform as the historian of events, compiling and maintaining photographic and written records of the operation, making them available for the publicity, post-operational review and future training activites.

Shift Supervisor

The Shift Supervisor is responsible for coordinating all of the ongoing activities in an activated ARES organization. Thus, the Shift Supervisor is usually the DEC, an EC, or an AEC, as the job demands considerable training and experience. Hence, the Shift Supervisor is a job designation created for a particular incident whereas the EC is a permanent title.

The Shift Supervisor must be able to accomplish the following, either personally or through delegation to a volunteer:

• Help Net Control Stations (NCS) with policy and procedure questions.
• See that the NCS'es follow basic rules for net operation.
• Open and close all nets.
• Coordinate operations with the Incident Commander.
• Ensure that shift changes occur in an orderly manner.
• Conduct periodic situation briefing broadcasts.
• Ensure Amateurs on shift are fed and have the resources they need.
• Ensure that shift changes are made frequently, and that Amateurs stand down between shifts, if possible.
• Establish Net traffic priorities, including NTS liason.
• Establish liason with adjacent jurisdictions to allocate resources, both Amateur and governmental.
• Ensure that the Amateur Radio resources are kept operational.

The following are the responsibility of the Shift Supervisor, but may be delegated. The Shift Supervisor should not be a NCS nor have any other incident-related positions.

• Ask NCS'es what they need.
• Ensure that a log is started, Pass all shift logs to the following shifts.
• Ensure that all messages are logged and that formal message traffic is taken on the appropriate message forms.
• Ensure that all equipment is maintained and operational.
• Set up liason with other organizations.
• Review Resource Net scheduling. Any Amateurs who are working with the dead should be relieved every two hours. Ensure that everyone checks into the resource net thirty minutes before their shift. This will allow for any last-minute changes in assignment BEFORE volunteers travel long distances with the possibility of the wrong equipment, incorrect assignment, or cancelled assignments.
• Work with the Incident Commander (IC) or whoever is in charge to allocate resources where they are needed. Ensure that the Resource Net maintains a few Amateurs in reserve just to make sure there are additional resources if requested by the IC.
• Ensure that all Amateurs are fed.
• Ensure that all Amateurs are informed of both local events and the overall scenario. Being kept in the dark is demoralizing. Also, the information will help make better NCS and Shift Supervisors in the future. Put out media information only when it has been verified locally. Do not mention specific names of people affected by the disaster. Get bulletins from the EOC and repeat the latest bulletin every half hour when there is no other traffic. Preceed Resource Net bulletins of system-side interest with a ten-second DTMF touch-tone so that receivers checking your frequency with their priority channel will lock on. Conduct a briefing on the Resource Net and continue updates on a scheduled basis. Publish a periodic briefing on packet including the nature of the incident, resources utilized, and any assistance that may be needed.
• The nets will be bombarded by incoming Health and Welfare (H&W) traffic. People from outside the area will insist that they have vital traffic for friends and relatives who in turn cannot be located for three days. Do the best you can to keep H&W traffic out of the Net until higher priority traffic has been passed. If necessary, set up a H&W net on HF; WESTCARS and WESTERN PUBLIC SERVICE are both valuable for this purpose. Never accept traffic unless you are absolutely sure that you can forward it to the addressee.
• Enlist the help of transmitter hunters to determine the sources of interfering signals.
• Ensure that Amateurs do not make decisions more properly made by government and disaster service agencies. We are communicators, not policy makers.
• Stay organized. Keep a list of nets, the purpose of each net, and the frequencies used.
• Agencies may be reluctant to ask us to leave when the activity winds down, so as not to hurt our feelings. Initiate suggestions to terminate service when it seems clear that we are no longer needed.

Net Control Stations

Operation within nets and the responsibilities of NCS'es are covered in the Net Operation section.

An Introduction to SEMS

SEMS, the Standard Emergency Management Procedure, is a standard way of managing resources during an emergency situation. You can refer to a self-study course for more information.

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