EMC023 ARES and ACS/RACES 3/6 
To:   Emergency Management Agencies via Amateur Radio
Info: Communications Volunteers in Government Service
Info: Amateurs U.S. (@usa:Information), ACS, CAP, MARS, RACES
By:   Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), the volunteer
      communications reserve of the State of California 
      Governor's Office of Emergency Services  

EMC023 - ARES and ACS/RACES 3/6   For Release  4/15/96

Continuation of "Why some ARES units fail as professional
units" By Bill Pennington, WA6SLA, DEC and ACS RADIO OFFICER.

"Leadership changes. Any public service or public safety-oriented 
Amateur Radio organization can only obtain legitimacy by working 
for an official agency. This is now recognized and recommended 
by most organizations. Organization participants basically become 
volunteer unpaid employees of that agency. Those agencies are 
the only source of official identification and insurance coverage.
 
Therefore, when mobilized, the unit personnel would work for the
agency. Basically such personnel will then have to respond to and
provide communications, and other services, such as using agency
radios and communications procedures, administrative duties,
etc., for the agency in the way the agency wishes. This means
using agency message formats, not standard ARES or National
Traffic System (NTS) formats unless approved by the agency as the
standard. It means no self mobilization (only by agency approved
personnel like the EC and/or Resource Manager etc.). Callup or
mobilization are accomplished by written (and sometimes verbal)
orders. Demobilization occurs only when the agency releases the
organization. (Yes, the organization has quit on its own. But
only once!) Agency mutual aid and incident management procedures
(mostly the Incident Command System through-out the country) have
to be understood and followed. Most personnel will have to report
to assignments away from their home stations. More often than not
with their complete personal mobile, portable or transportable
voice and/or digital hf and/or vhf stations. (An exception would
possibly be for the Red Cross accessing the NTS with a large
volume of public service H&W traffic.)"

Continues next week.
 
ACS World Wide WEB URL is http://www.garlic.com/oes
FTP archive:  ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/packet/tcpip/incoming

Origination Stn: W6WWW@KM6PX.#NOCAL.USA.NA.  BBS 916-262-1657.
EOM EMC023