SEPTEMBER 2003

INTRODUCTION - The Santa Barbara Section covers approximately 8000 square miles and has a population of roughly 1.5 million people. Given the area of the Section and the difficult topography, communications between Districts and throughout the Section are a problem. The following Guidelines have been established to facilitate these communications. These Guidelines are not hard rules. By definition, the Guidelines should be used to established incident specific procedures.

DISTRICT PROCEDURES – Standard Operational Procedures of the three Districts within the Santa Barbara Section are included with these Guidelines by reference.

POTENTIAL CONFLICTS – Where these Guidelines conflict with individual District Procedures, these Guidelines shall control for Section-Wide incidents and the District Procedures shall control for incidents wholly within a District.

INCIDENT PROCEDURES – The procedures noted herein are guidelines. Incident specific procedures may be needed for larger incidents. The Section Emergency Coordinator or a designated DEC will implement incident specific procedures when needed. These incident specific procedures shall be based upon these Guidelines, ARRL Procedures, District Procedures, and good communications practice.

IMPLEMENTATION - These Guidelines should be implemented when one or more Districts require contact with each other during a "Section-Wide Incident".

SECTION-WIDE INCIDENT - A "Section-Wide Incident" is defined as any incident that affects more than one of the Santa Barbara Section’s Districts.

NET CONTROL - The Net Control shall be established by mutual agreement between the affected Districts as soon as possible after the Incident begins. As a general guideline, the DEC for the initiating District will assume the initial Net Control responsibility. The SEC will assume this responsibility as quickly as possible to free up the DEC and then reassign the Net Control as the Incident progresses.

INCIDENT MANAGER - The "Incident Manager", or tactical head of ARES operations, during a Section-Wide Incident shall be the SEC, the DEC of the initiating District, or a designated DEC or EC.

SEC – R. Jack Hunter KD6HHG

DESEC – Pete Nicklin K6TOD

DEC VENTURA – Dave Gilmore AA6VH

DEC – SANTA BARBARA – Dave Lamb WA6BRW

DEC – SAN LUIS OBISPO – Bill Peirce KE6FKS

SECTION-WIDE VHF - 147.000

VENTURA VHF - 146.880

SANTA BARBARA VHF - 145.180 / 145.140

SAN LUIS OBISPO VHF - 147.360 / 146.620

CROSS-BAND REPEATERS - 146.000 ---- 446.000

HF - To be assigned

PACKET - To be assigned

APRS - 145.390

SECTION SIMPLEX - 146.520

1.01 INTRODUCTION TO THIS MANUAL - The purpose of this Manual is to provide the reader and/or members of ARES and/or RACES/ACS with a basic text for study and reference.

1.01.01 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS - The editor would like to thank all the individuals for their contributions to this Manual. However, so many have contributed that I fear someone may be excluded. Therefore, if you have helped, let me take this opportunity to thank you for your time and efforts.

1.01.02 DEDICATION - This Manual is dedicated to all those individuals who have given of themselves and their time to serve the local community through ARES, RACES/ACS, and Ham Radio. Tens of thousands of hours are given in anonymity each year to protect and aid the local community in times of need. This Manual is the end product of a series of previously published Manuals and Operating Procedures prepared by the Author along with countless contributions by others. This Dedication is the Author’s small way of saying thank you for the gift of everyone’s time and resources and their dedication to the highest principles of volunteer service and Amateur Radio

1.01.03 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - It is the intent of this Manual to provide the reader with information on ARES with an introduction to RACES/ACS. It is strongly suggested that the reader obtain the information noted below to supplement this Manual.

Current Personnel Lists

Current Local Training Net Procedures

Current Local ARES Procedures

Current Local RACES/ACS Procedures

Current Local Operational Frequencies

Reference Texts

It is suggested that all members holding leadership positions prepare a loose leaf Reference Binder with this Manual and the ARRL materials noted above for reference. It is suggested that second loose leaf Reference Binder be prepared with those materials most often used - membership lists, local procedures, local frequencies, etc.. Cumbersome or complicated references are not recommended since they will tend to impede progress during an actual response. However, well organized simple Reference Binder with all the needed tools is recommended. The Reference Binder should be district specific, area specific (if needed), and user specific.

Amateur Radio is established by Congress through the Communications Act as a service. Amateurs have been instrumental in the development of the communications art since the early work of Hertz and Marconi, who were essentially amateurs.

In the years just before World War I, a group of amateurs in Hartford, Connecticut established the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). The primary objective of this organization was to develop the art of communications through the establishment of a series of relay stations to expedite the transmission of public service messages across the country and to foster the experimentation which ultimately lead to the transcontinental and world wide communications systems.

Since these early days, radio amateurs have established a reputation for public service communications, especially in times of crisis and special need which can not be met by the normal communications systems. In the beginning, these services were rendered spontaneously and largely on an individual basis. As time progressed, the need for and value of organization became apparent and this led to the establishment of several organized bodies with clearly defined functions.

Today, there exists in Amateur Radio a very complete and close volunteer organization of amateur radio operators dedicated to public service. Sponsored by the ARRL, a field organization has been established which includes the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS). An independently organized system sponsored by the Federal Government called the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) fulfills other functions not directly addressed by ARES and together they form integral parts of the Amateur Radio Service's Public Service effort. In the State of California RACES functions have been largely replaced by the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS).

ARES, which is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), consists of licensed radio amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed radio amateur, irrespective of other affiliations, is eligible for membership in ARES. The only qualification, other than holding a valid Radio Amateur Operators License, is a sincere desire to serve the public interest. ARES is essentially a local operation within the County and is self regulating and self managed.

Amateur radio operators have equipment suitable for emergency operations and many have expended substantial sums of money in state of the art electronic equipment and emergency power supplies.

ARES provides back-up communications in the event of disasters or emergencies when regular communications are disrupted or overloaded. The primary responsibility of ARES is to provide health and welfare communications.

Locally, the primary ARES responsibility is providing health and welfare communications for the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and any agency requesting health and welfare communications. The ARRL has national memorandums of understanding with both the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

ARES conducts regular training classes and exercises to insure that its members are well trained in emergency procedures and the best use is made of their individual talents. These exercises are planned and carried out so that any future emergency operations will function smoothly and effectively. These training exercises often take place in concert with regular public activities such as foot races and bicycle races. ARES provides communications to facilitate smooth running of these events. Such exercises and procedures allow the ARES response to a crisis to be flexible and effective.

ARES is an integral part of the American Radio Relay League Field Organization. The ARRL has fifteen geographical Divisions with each Division having three to seven Sections. Each Section has numerous Districts. Our portion of ARES is the Santa Barbara Section of the Southwestern Division.

Each of the Sections has an elected Section Manager who administers activities within their Section. The Section Managers make Section Appointees to supervise various individual activities including ARES and the National Traffic System (NTS).

Each District has an ARES District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). Each Area has an Emergency Coordinator (EC) with some Areas also having an Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC).

It is suggested that each ARES member familiarize themselves with the ARRL Field Organization. ARRL publications describing the ARRL Field Organization are included by reference.

RACES differs from ARES in one very important respect - it is a federally regulated activity within the Amateur Radio Service. It is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States Government and is intended to provide radio communications during periods of local, regional, or national civil emergencies for civil preparedness purposes, only. These emergencies can include natural disasters such as fires, floods, or earthquakes, etc.. As defined by the rules, RACES is a radio communications service conducted by volunteer licensed amateurs. The service is designed to provide emergency communications to state or local civil preparedness agencies. As such, it can only operate at the specific request of a designated state or local official. The primary function of RACES is to provide secondary and back-up communications for supported safety agencies.

The main advantages of RACES are that the participants are covered by government insurance programs during their active roles and some federal funds are available to assist in the development of the program. The only disadvantage is some lack of flexibility and restrictions imposed by the Government.

In California the RACES functions have largely been replaced by the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) and the two organizations have essentially become one. The acronyms are basically interchangeable.

All RACES/ACS volunteers must be registered as Disaster Service Workers to participate in RACES/ACS activities and to be covered by the State insurance program for volunteers.

All members of RACES/ACS are Disaster Service Workers (also called Emergency Services Workers) as defined by the State of California. As such, all RACES/ACS members must be registered with the County Office of Emergency Services and must carry the appropriate identification during RACES/ACS activities. The identification is in the form of a laminated photo identification provided by County OES.

The local ARES Network is comprised of the following elements:

A. A network of VHF/UHF repeaters.

B. A network of VHF Digipeaters and a Bulletin Board.

C. Assigned VHF and UHF frequencies.

D. Numerous Emergency Communications Centers (ECC) and Emergency Operations Centers (EOC).

E. Assigned District Emergency Coordinators (DEC), Area Emergency Coordinators (EC) and Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC).

F. High frequency facilities permanently installed at key points and backed by amateur stations throughout the County. These facilities are capable of intercontinental communications and interface with the National Traffic System (NTS), daily.

G. A nucleus of trained operators.

Any event which disables or severely overloads the telephone system is an emergency which calls for activation of the ARES Network. Such an emergency will usually be self-evident or will be indicated by the Emergency Broadcast System. In this case, ARES members will check in on one of the Primary Emergency Frequencies and, if able, proceed to their assigned locations.

Not all emergencies will affect the telephone system. In this case, the ARES members may be alerted using a Telephone Tree / Notification List.

Notice of an EMERGENCY (declared by a responsible official), an ALERT (notification of a possible emergency), or a request for aid from some other area should activate the ARES Network. Any member of the Network receiving notice, if not a DEC, an EC, or an AEC, should contact a DEC, EC or AEC and pass on the received information. If the individual is unable to reach a responsible party, the individual should act as Net Control on the Emergency Frequency until relieved of their duties.

The DEC, any EC, or any AEC may, even without being officially notified, activate the ARES Network if there is a reasonable presumption of need.

f the contacted ARES member to contact needed ARES members.

The following information will be needed from the served agency:

Nature of the emergency

Location of the emergency

Type of communications needed

Anticipated number of communicators needed

Name of Contact Person at the incident location

The first person to receive notification will act as the Incident Manager. This person will attempt to contact the DEC and the ECs or AECs by telephone. This person will ask the contacted ECs or AECs to open the ECCs or similar facilities within the County, if conditions warrant. This person will appoint a qualified member as ARES / RACES Net Control.

The Net Control Operator will put out a QST to all members on the primary ARES / RACES Repeater, if it is available. The QST will notify all members that a drill or incident is in effect and that the ARES/RACES Net has been activated. The Net Control Operator will ask that all members monitor the frequency for further instructions. A similar QST will be given on the other local repeaters directing any listening members to monitor the primary ARES/RACES Repeater for further instructions.

If the established ECCs were not activated during the initial telephone call-out or it become necessary to activate additional facilities, the Incident Manager will ask the Net Control Operator to request that some or all of the County ECCs be staffed. The Incident Manager may find it necessary to request that temporary ECCs be activated in areas that do not have permanent facilities. In all cases, monitoring members will be requested to check-in to their local ECC on its' Simplex Frequency. This process will help eliminate unnecessary traffic on the Primary Frequency and give the local ECs and their members a more active roll in the process. The Net Control Operator will ask that each ECC report back within an established time frame with a list of members that have checked-in. The order of responsibility for the activation of each ECC will always start with the first person contacted in order of listing. First will be the local EC, then the Assistant EC, and then any qualified member of the organization.

It is important for the Net Control Operator to have control of the situation and yet remain flexible. It is not unlikely that, depending on the type of disaster, that the entire Network will be on emergency power. Each member should be prepared and should understand the use of the Simplex Frequencies, the Cross-Band Repeaters, and the Portable Packet Station. The local EC is a resource and should be used to make the task easier. Each member should obtain and study this Manual and should obtain a County ID Badge.

The individual activating the Network becomes the Incident Manager for the Emergency Net, unless and until they pass on the responsibility. The Incident Manager will evaluate the situation and decide how much of the organization should be alerted, what liaison with neighboring cities and organizations should be established, what locations should be manned and what other response is needed. They should also decide whether to alert by voice radio, packet radio, telephone, or a combination.

Depending upon the circumstances, the Incident Manager may opt to use tactical or formal message procedures. Copies of all messages shall be retained.

The Net Control designated by the Incident Manager and any stations the Net Control may designate shall keep a log of the emergency operations which shows at least the following: starting and ending time of messages, summary of important messages, summary of important events and actions.

The DEC shall submit a report on Public Activity Reporting Form CD-157 (copy attached) for all emergency and simulated emergency operations as soon as possible after the event, based upon logs and recollections of the various participants. This report is described in the Emergency Coordinator's Manual which is included by reference.

The local RACES/ACS Network is comprised of the following elements:

A. A network of VHF/UHF repeaters.

B. A network of VHF Digipeaters and a Bulletin Board.

C. Assigned VHF and UHF frequencies.

D. Numerous Emergency Communications Centers (ECC) and Emergency (EOC) Operations Centers.

E. County RACES Officer, Area Emergency Coordinators (EC), Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC).

F. High frequency facilities permanently installed at key points and backed by amateur stations throughout the County. These facilities are capable of intercontinental communications and interface with the National Traffic System (NTS), daily.

G. A nucleus of trained operators.

The RACES/ACS Network can only be activated by the County Office of Emergency Services or the California Department of Forestry (C.D.F.) in some venues acting as the County Office of Emergency Services Liaison for fire related events. This is in marked contrast with the ARES network which can be activated as noted above. Any event which disables or severely overloads the communications systems of the County or City safety agencies may trigger the activation of the RACES/ACS Network. Other events related to an emergency incident may also trigger the activation. Such an emergency may often be self-evident or may be indicated by the Emergency Broadcast System. Once the RACES/ACS Network is activated, RACES/ACS members should check in on one of the two Primary Emergency Frequencies and, if able, proceed to their assigned locations. In the event the telephone system is not operating, key volunteers should be contacted via the emergency radio frequency from the County Emergency Operations Center, or the California Department of Forestry Command Post. Not all emergencies will affect the telephone system. In this case, the RACES/ACS members may be alerted using the Telephone Tree / Notification List.

The responsibilities assumed by ARES and RACES/ACS are often confusing to the membership, the organization leadership, and the served agencies. This is unfortunate, but to a certain extent, it is unavoidable. The blurring of the lines of responsibility is necessary for a membership and leadership in two related organizations (ARES and RACES/ACS).

Almost every event will start out with an initial ARES response. As the event progresses the event may require a RACES/ACS involvement. The RACES/ACS response will invariably involve the same communicators involved in the ARES response since almost all members share membership in both organizations and the leadership of both organizations is essentially the same.

The determination of responsibilities can be simply discerned. If the communicator is providing health and welfare communications for the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, or other non-safety agency, then the responsibility is probably to ARES. If the communicator is providing secondary or backup communications for a safety agency, then the responsibility is almost always to RACES/ACS.

When an emergency event occurs most members, even the most experienced, often do not know how to respond. This is probably the least understood part of ARES and RACES/ACS and it is so basic and obvious that it is often overlooked. By reviewing the sections that follow the member should be able to determine how to respond.

Each member should let the leadership know the basics of their personal situation. Forms are available to let the leadership know the member's address, phone number, availability of equipment, license classification, etc.. The member should take the time to fill out this form and/or make sure that it is current. The forms can be obtained from your EC or the ARES DEC. The forms should be returned to the EC or DEC.

The member should have a basic understanding of the ARES, and RACES/ACS leadership. The member should especially know the name and call of their EC.

Your initial response to any event will normally be prompted by a call from an EC asking for help. Be prepared to give them a definite answer. If you are available, let them know that you are available and for how long. If you can not work on the incident let them know, but be definite. The worst possible response is a maybe. It is no crime to be unavailable because of work commitments, family commitments, health limitations, lack of transportation, or other factors. Remember, this is a volunteer organization.

Some events may last for several days. Working several shifts during a lengthy incident is quite common. Be prepared for this possibility. If you can work several shifts let the EC or calling party know. One precaution - do not overdo it. It is very easy to get caught up in the excitement or the real needs of an incident and push yourself too far. We have a lot of good people in the organization and most want to do their part. Your participation is important, but your welfare is more important.

If you can not directly participate in an event, then you may want to consider an alternate response. There is always a need for standby base stations, personnel to help with staffing the event, relieving the EC so they can directly participate in the incident, relay stations, or other duties. When you are called and if you can not directly participate, you may want to volunteer for one of these very important alternate duties.

When you receive the call for help and have volunteered, you should ascertain some basic information:

(1) Where do you report?

(2) Who do you report to?

(3) Who are you relieving?

(4) Who will you be dealing with?

(5) When should you arrive?

(6) What is your shift beginning and ending times?

(7) Will you need any special equipment?

If the caller can not give you the needed information, find out how you can get it.

Upon reporting to an incident, report to the individual in-charge and let them know you are there. Then report to your assignment. If you have the initial shift, let the Net Control know that you are on-station and ready. If you are relieving someone, let them know you are there and then let Net Control know the situation.

After reporting-in, review your assignment with the person in-charge or the individual you are relieving. Go over every aspect of the assignment and get as clear a picture as possible of your responsibilities, your duties, the people you be dealing with, the type of traffic you will be handling, and any required message forms and/or documentation needed.

When you are relieved and are prepared to leave an incident, report to Net Control and to the individual in-charge. Knowing that you are not there can sometimes be very important to the people we serve. Go over your assignment with your relief thoroughly. The more they know the better job they can do. If you have kept records or notes, make arrangements to have the notes or copies forwarded to Net Control or a responsible party.

All ARES and RACES/ACS members are encouraged to keep and maintain a personal preparedness kit so that they can be available with the minimum of delay and be able to maintain themselves for a reasonable period of time in the event their services are needed. The following is a suggested minimum kit:

Clothing - Spare jeans, 2 shirts, 2 pair of socks, 2 changes of underwear, spare pair of shoes.

Toilet articles - shaver, toothbrush and toothpaste, wash cloth, soap, shampoo, talcum powder, cotton swabs, facial tissue, paper towels, toilet paper.

Stationary - Calendar/Diary, calculator, ball point pens, pencils, note pad, ARRL message forms, County map, phone book.

Miscellaneous - Flash light, am/fm radio, travel alarm clock, spare batteries, work gloves, personal medications, money ($20 bill and loose change), basic tool kit, blanket or rug.

Food - Gallon of distilled water, chocolate, snacks (sealed), plastic cups.

For Mobile Operations - Hard hat, tire pump, reflective vest, tool box, fire extinguisher, waterless hand cleaner.

Radio Equipment - Copy of your license. It is suggested that portable outside antennas be included with your equipment. And, don't forget your spare HT batteries and chargers.

The development of communications skills is undoubtedly the most overlooked part of emergency radio. Hams, even experienced Hams, often feel that since they are licensed that they do not need to hone their communications skills. This is an unfortunate circumstance. While all Hams, irrespective of their license classification, have a considerable amount of technical skill, it does not necessarily follow that they have good communication skills. Listen to Nets in other areas and you can easily see why you need to sharpen your skills. All the fancy equipment and complex rules of operation can not make up for the developed skill of getting your message across simply and clearly.

There are three keys to communications during any emergency event - simplicity, accuracy, and brevity. A simple, accurate, and brief message will always be the best method of communicating. Any communication should be thought through and reviewed before it is put on the air. A lengthy complex communication with a lot of technical jargon may impress the casual listener, but if it does not convey the required information clearly or if it is inaccurate, it is pointless. Additionally, lengthy communications tie up the assigned frequencies and prevents other important traffic from being sent and received.

One last caution. Do not tie up the assigned frequencies with unnecessary traffic. One of the most common mistakes is over-identification. Giving out your call sign periodically or telling everyone you are at your assigned post several times is unnecessary and adds nothing to your assigned task.

The easiest way to develop your communication's skills is obviously to practice. The best forums for this practice are the weekly ARES Net and the local public service events. Running a Net or participating as a communicator in a local event develops your skills easily and quickly. Participation in local events is also fun and fulfilling. You get to exercise your skills and equipment while making a positive contribution to the local community.

Any message transmitted during an emergency must be documented. ARES has no standardized message form for emergency traffic. Most safety agencies have their own forms that must be used.

If you are using an agency form, take the time learn the form and find out how it should be filled out. Also, find out what should or should not be transmitted. You should keep a short record of your own for further reference. Agencies make mistakes and lose things. Your back-up record may save a lot of headaches later in the emergency. After the incident your records may be invaluable in clarifying incident details or sequences of events.

When you need to send messages review some basic rules

When you receive a message the same questions used for sending the message must be answered. If they are not, get the information before clearing the frequency and passing on the message. Do not wait until you have time later for an explanation. You won't have the time later and you may not have the opportunity to add the new or corrected information to the old traffic. Additionally, it will probably be too late to correct errors caused by the lack of information or incorrect information.

One continuing problem, especially with RACES/ACS traffic, is agency jargon. Each agency has its own language. Before you transmit any messages with agency jargon take the time to understand what is being sent. If you do not understand it, have it explained. A misunderstood message is far more damaging than the extra one or two minutes of delay it takes for the explanation of an acronym or an unfamiliar term.

During an incident, specific procedures will have to be developed for that incident. Sometimes, this will have happened in advance of the incident. However, normally the procedures will be developed at the very beginning of the incident. Each agency has its own procedures. To outline each agencies procedures is beyond the scope of this Manual and since these procedures often change, counter-productive. However, some general statements can be made about incident communications.

TACTICAL CALLS: To expedite communications, Tactical Calls are often assigned to each tactical position (not the operator). These calls will be short and descriptive so that the caller and their location can be quickly identified and their message can be properly routed or handled. A common error in using Tactical Calls is the over-use of Ham Call Signs with the Tactical Calls. Although you are required to properly identify yourself during communications, you should minimize the use of your Call Sign and only identify yourself when necessary. Tactical Call signs do not replace Ham Call Signs, but if you have been identified as the tactical caller and have signed recently, then they know who you are and the Call Sign is redundant.

ROUTING: Messages, especially RACES/ACS messages, often will be going to a specified individual. Make sure you have the routing correct. A message that doesn't get to the intended individual is no message. If someone has to be contacted, double check the phone number or radio frequency and check for alternate contact methods. If a message has to be delivered, double check the routing and follow-up later to insure that the message arrived.

Although an in-depth review of the Incident Command System is beyond the scope of this Manual, an overview of the Incident Command System is necessary since many local agencies and all the fire protection agencies use the Incident Command System for their operations in response to emergencies. The following information gives an overview of the Incident Command System and a review of the communications element of the plan.

The National Inter-Agency Incident Management System (NIIMS) has been developed to provide a common system which fire protection agencies can utilize at local, state, and federal levels.

The Incident Command System (ICS) was developed through a cooperative inter-agency (local, State, and Federal) effort, known as FIRESCOPE. The basic organizational structure is designed to be used for all kinds of emergencies, and is applicable to both small day-to-day situations as well as very large and complex incidents.

COMPONENTS OF ICS: The Incident Command System has a number of components. These components, working together interactively, provide the basis for an effective ICS concept of operation.

INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS: Communications at the incident are managed through the use of a common communications plan and an incident based communications center established solely for the use of tactical and support resources assigned to the incident. All communications between organizational elements at an incident should be in plain English. No codes should be used and all communications should be confined only to essential messages. The Communications Unit is responsible for all communications planning at the incident. This will include incident established radio networks, on-site telephone, public address, and off-incident telephone/microwave/radio systems.

RADIO NETWORKS: Radio networks for large incidents will normally be organized as follows:

Command Net - This net should link together the Incident Command, key staff members, Section Chiefs, Division and Group Supervisors.

Tactical Nets - There may be several tactical nets may be established around agencies, departments, geographical areas, or even specified functions. The determination of how these nets are set-up should be a joint Planning/Operations function. The Communications Unit Leader will develop the plan.

Support Nets - A support net will be established primarily to handle status changing for resources as well as for support requests and certain other non-tactical or command functions.

Ground to Air Nets - A ground to air tactical frequency may be designated or regular tactical nets may be used to coordinate ground to air traffic.

Air to Air Nets - Air to air nets will normally be predesigned and assigned for use at the incident.

Except as otherwise noted herein, the Incident Command System will be used as a basic framework for ARES and RACES/ACS incident/event management. Each incident and/or event will have an "Incident Manager" for amateur communications. For small and/or short-term incidents or events the Net Control will assume this position. For longer and more complex incidents or events a more structured and more complex framework will be needed.

The Incident Command System is intended to be flexible, it can be as small or as large as is needed to complete the necessary task. The key to its success lies within its structure.

As noted above, the Net Control will assume the task of Incident Manager. The Net Control will make personnel assignments for tasks as needed.

As noted above, larger and more complex incidents and/or events will require that one individual assume the position of Incident Manager. Normally, this will be the ARES DEC, an EC, an assistant EC. However, anyone may assume this task.

INCIDENT MANAGER: The Incident Manager will be in responsible charge of the incident or event for amateur communications. He/she will make or designate a branch of the ICS responsible for making personnel assignments, for assigning control and secondary frequencies, for assigning tactical call signs, for coordinating with served agencies, and for performing any duty necessary to coordinate the amateur radio communication being done for the incident or event.

ICS STRUCTURE: The ICS structure will be setup with the Incident Manager at the top of the tree, the next two lower branches would include an Operations Branch (for incident/event traffic only) and a Logistics Branch (for incident/event related staffing and technical concerns). These two branches would operate on independent frequencies to avoid confusion. They would communicate with the Incident Manager as necessary. In larger incidents/events a third branch would be added for inter-agency coordination. The Logistics Branch would divide the staffing and technical functions into two smaller branches that would report to the Logistics Branch. The ICS tree structure should start out small, and then expand and contract with the magnitude of the incident/event.

ICS COMMUNICATIONS: It is critical to keep ARES/RACES/ACS management communications from interfering with and or confusing actual incident/event traffic. All communications within the ICS tree structure are vertical, there should be no horizontal contacts. The staffing and technical branches communicate with the Logistics Branch, in turn the Logistics Branch communicates with the Incident Manager and the Incident Manager communicates with the Operations Branch, the head of Operations Branch ie. the Net Control will then communicate with the effected controlled stations.

1. NATURE OF ACTIVITY (Check one or more)

____COMMUNICATIONS EMERGENCY (Amateur supplied communications to replace or supplement normal communications means or which could not have been supplied by commercial means)

____ALERT (Amateurs were deployed for emergency communications, but emergency situation did not develop)

____SPECIAL EXERCISE (Amateurs supplied communications for a parade, race, etc.)

____TEST OR DRILL (A training activity in which amateur participated)

____OTHER (Specify):

9. FACTUAL DETAILS OF OPERATION AS IT CONCERNED AMATEUR RADIO (Be specific with places, persons, terms, and situations):

GENERIC MESSAGE FORM

PURPOSE – The purpose of this document is to outline, in written form, a fundamental Statement of Purpose for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) within California. The Section Managers of both the Southwestern and Pacific Divisions of the American Radio Relay League have reviewed this document and support its contents.

LIMITATIONS – This document is limited to portions of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Pacific and Southwestern Divisions within the boundaries of the State of California. This document is limited to activities by ARES. No intent is expressed or implied for activities of other amateur radio organizations. No intent is expressed or implied for specific activities of local ARES groups as they relate to their operational procedures and agreements with served agencies.

FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE - The Fundamental Purpose of ARES is to provide emergency communications in times of need to any governmental or non-profit organization needing this service.

SCOPE – Any governmental or non-profit organization needing ARES communications services will be served, if possible. The communications services will be provided so long as the Member providing the service has the expertise to provide the service and the Member is not in imminent danger. Additional services can be provided so long as the primary mission (communications) is not compromised.

COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES – ARES, within California, is committed to working with all related volunteer communications organizations including, but not limited to, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), REACT, local search and rescue organizations, local emergency response teams, Etc..

GOALS – The Fundamental Goal of ARES, within California, is to serve the public in times of need. All other goals are secondary. Supportive goals include cooperative agreements between all ARES groups to provide a mutual aid network, a cohesive and effective radio link throughout the State, standardized training, standardized Disaster Services Worker Identification, and standardized operational procedures.

AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY - Each Section within each of the two ARRL Divisions in California maintains an ARES organization. The exact configuration of these organizations will vary from Section to Section. However, each Section does and will maintain Section Emergency Coordinators (SEC) responsible, in concert with the Section Manager, for the provision of a viable ARES resource. Under "normal" circumstances, communications needs requested of ARES will be accommodated and provided from within the Section in which the need arises using such resources as are available. There may be instances, however, in which the needs attendant to a particular incident may exceed the resources available within the effected Section. In such a case, "mutual aid" may be requested from outside the Section and, if necessary, from outside the effected Division.

MUTUAL AID - Each Section Manager within the two ARRL Divisions covering the State of California agrees to provide, through the Section’s ARES organization, such "mutual aid" communications resources as may be needed by another Section when such assistance will not jeopardize the ability to respond appropriately to a local emergency.

PROCEDURE FOR REQUESTING MUTAL AID - Mutual aid may be requested from a Section by the following process:

• the SEC (or designee) of the Section needing assistance will contact the SEC (or designee) of adjacent Section(s)
• the requesting SEC will provide a "Mission Assignment Request", i.e. the SEC will indicate the type of assistance needed, the number of operators, type of equipment, and projected duration of the need
• the receiving SEC will make every effort to accommodate the request in whole or in part. The SEC will inform his/her Section Manager of the request and the dispatch of mutual aid forces
• requests for mutual aid may be made by telephone, Internet, or on the air. Note: a state-wide "watch frequency" or set of frequencies is being developed at this time and will be provided at a later date