General:
The mission of any ACS unit is to serve its sponsoring governmental jurisdiction in support of any possible need relative to communications in an emergency. This means far more than being activated in sporadic emergencies. It includes day-to-day involvement in the affairs of that agency. In effect, ACS becomes an integrated aspect of the sponsoring agency staff, albeit unpaid.

Specific:
For the State of California, the mission of the ACS unit of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) is to provide emergency tactical, administrative and logistical communications between the State and its agencies, its Regions, and from its Regions to the Operational Areas of the State; and between the State Operations Center and neighboring state governments and Federal Agencies.

Operations occur in multiple situations, ranging from well equipped ACS Communications Centers in OES facilities to field deployable communications assets in support to Federal, State and Local agencies such as DOJ, USFS, CDF, Fire, Law and other Incident Command Posts.

Additional responsibilities include providing assistance to counties and cities in developing ACS units in their jurisdictions as well as communications Mutual Aid requests through the Standardized Emergency Management System and the Response Information Management System as coordinated by the OES Staff Communications Coordinators.

See ACS Charter

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Updated:  11/28//04 crm