Introduction

Ham Radio:

The Amateur Radio Service (a.k.a. "Ham" Radio) is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (the F.C.C.) and various international treaties to utilize a variety of frequencies and modes of radio communications in the pursuit of hobby activities and experimentation. An integral part of the Amateur Radio Service has always been an emphasis on public-service through provision of emergency communications in times of need.

ARRL

The Amateur Radio Relay League (The ARRL) is the National Amateur Radio Organization in the United States of America. Among its many activates, the ARRL has established a nation-wide field organization devoted to providing public-service communications in both emergency and non-emergency settings. One major part of the ARRL Field Organization is called ARES - The Amateur Radio Emergency Service -and is dedicated to providing emergency communications services wherever and whenever needed. The American Radio Relay League in Newington, Connecticut administers these emergency communications services to all of the 3,075 counties in the United States through their appointed representatives, described below.

ARRL Field Organization

The State of Florida is divided into three Sections under the ARRL Field Organization - Northern Florida, Southern Florida and West-Central Florida. The Northern Florida Section covers all of North Florida as far south as Hernando County. The section is broken into 7 districts, each covering between 4 and 8 counties each. The Florida Crown District is composed of the following counties (or localities) : Bradford, Baker, Duval, Jacksonville Beaches, Clay, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns.

Each of the above localities has its own ARES organization which is responsible for all services provided in that locality, and for liaison with all agencies desiring services within the county.

ARES

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public interest when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in the 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.

ARES Leadership

There are three levels of ARES organization--section, district and local. At the section level, the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) is appointed by the ARRL Section Manager (SM) (who is elected by the ARRL members in his section) and works under his 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 EC's.

In large sections, (like Northern Florida) the SECs have the option of grouping their EC jurisdictions into "districts" and appointing a district EC (DEC) to coordinate the activities of the local EC'S. 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.

It is at the local level where most of the organization and operation is effected, because this is the level at which most emergencies occur . It is also the level at which ARES leadership makes direct contact with the ARES member- volunteers and with officials of the agencies to be served. The local Emergency Coordinator (EC) is therefore the key contact in the ARES. The EC is appointed by the SEC, usually on the recommendation of the District EC (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.

Special-interest groups are headed up by assistant emergency coordinators, (AEC's) 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. These assistants, with the EC as chairman, constitute the local ARES "planning committee" and they meet together to discuss problems and plan projects to keep the ARES group active and well-trained.

The following material is quoted from the Section Emergency Plan and is included here as required by that plan:

Emergency Coordinator (EC)

The EC is the chief ARES official in the County, and is directly responsible to the District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). The duties of Emergency Coordinator require a serious commitment of time and effort by the volunteer who accepts it. The EC serves at the pleasure of the Section EC or Section Manager, but works closely with the District EC day to day.

The EC's duties in a medium-to-large county are many and complex. No EC can do everything himself. To be effective, he must delegate duties to ssistant EC'S (AECs). He/she may appoint as many AECs as needed. AEC appointments do not need approval by any other ARES official. AECs need not be ARRL members, but should be encouraged to join. They serve at the pleasure of the EC and their appointments lapse when the EC resigns or is replaced, though any or all of the same individuals may be reappointed by the new EC at his/her discretion.

The EC organizes and coordinates Amateur Radio communications in the County to accommodate the needs of agencies served.

The National Traffic System (NTS)

A second key part of the ARRL organization is the National Traffic System. The NTS is perhaps best thought of as a second long-distance-telephone network operated solely on radio circuits by volunteers. During normal circumstances, the NTS delivers non-emergency traffic (i.e. messages) to and from virtually any location in the country. During an emergency, the same system of volunteer operators handles emergency messages as well. Please note that since many emergencies are highly localized, an emergency in one area may leave the remainder of the country un-affected. Hence any on given day, the NTS may handle a variety of emergency and non-emergency traffic. Special handling procedures ensure that emergency messages are always give priority over routine traffic.

The National Traffic System is designed to meet two principal objectives: rapid movement of traffic from origin to destination, and training amateur operators to handle written traffic and participate in directed networks. NTS operates daily, and consists of four different net levels--Area, Region, Section, and Local--which operate in an orderly time sequence to effect a definite flow pattern for traffic from origin to destination.

When an emergency occurs, the ARES organizations in the affected localities augment the NTS volunteers in handling emergency traffic by seamlessly extending the system into the areas where needed. Returning to our telephone analogy, if the NTS is like the nation-wide long- distance telephone network, ARES is like a portable telephone company central office. When normal communications in an area is adversely impacted by an emergency, the ARES provides a temporary link between key government and relief agencies and the rest of the world by connecting them to each other and to the NTS.

Go back to Table of Contents

Go back to Definitions

Go to next chapter of Plan: PART 2: WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO?