Statement of the Section Manager with respect to the ARES program in Colorado

EC / SEC Roles ;  Required Training:

The local EC is the individual on the front line with the best understanding of what member participation levels, types of training, frequency of drills and other organizational aspects are needed.  These will not be dictated to the EC from the Section.  If a local sheriff’s office requires their volunteers, including ARES volunteers to have ICS training, the local group will either get the training, or not participate. If they don’t require it, Section leadership should not ‘force’ training (that isn’t required) on operators in order for them to participate in their local ARES groups. The only requirement that will be 'dictated' is that ECs not act in a manner which would cast Amateur Radio, Colorado ARES or the ARRL in a negative light while acting under the auspices of the ARES program. 

There are standard training programs from Colorado ARES, ARRL, and FEMA which are recommended training for anyone involved with operating in the disaster/incident response arena.  And, each individual ARES unit may establish local training as required by the local EC or a served agency.  Any such training should be applied in a non-discriminatory manner (applied equally to all members in the same role) and be appropriate for an emergency / auxiliary communications unit.    

The role of the SEC is to:

• Recommend candidates for Emergency Coordinator appointment
• Ensure a standard set of training materials and resources is available to everyone
• Coordinate cross-jurisdictional or multi-jurisdictional training and operations
• Assess preparedness state-wide and work with EC’s to continually improve
• Serve as an advisor to any EC requesting assistance in development, planning, preparedness  or operations.
• Keep abreast of the current ‘state of the art’ with respect to providing emergency communications service and disseminate information throughout the Colorado Section
• Establish standards for participation in teams that provide regional or out-of-state service (more about this below)
• Maintain a database of resources—personnel, equipment and specialized operations that can be called upon in the event of a mutual aid response requirement or deployment to an area where no EMComm group exists.
• Respond to EC requests for mutual aid if that EC deems their internal resources inadequate to meet mission requirements or needs a specialized operation not internally available.
• Coordinate with the Section Traffic Manager to ensure adequate NTS outlets exist for the routing of Welfare traffic during emergencies
• Serve as liaison between Colorado ARES and served agencies that operate state-wide or interstate. 
• Provide a liaison to SECs in bordering states and establish MOUs with them.

It is expected that neighboring ARES districts will establish operating relationships with each other to varying degrees of formality.  The SEC need not be involved in developing these relationships.  ECs should ensure that the SEC is aware of the scope of all inter-district agreements (that aren't already spelled out in the COPLAN) to assist him/her with understanding the state of readiness and the resources available and/or committed.

Mutual Aid Responder:  

While there will be no specific levels of training or participation mandated to local ECs, it is recognized that the nationwide trend for all volunteers who participate in disaster response at any level be trained to some minimum level of competence so that emergency managers can receive volunteers from out of their area with the confidence that those volunteers are capable of performing at the levels required to meet mission requirements.  

Following the structure set by many disaster response organizations, Colorado ARES, effective immediately, has established a program whereby volunteers from any local ARES group may wish to have themselves designated as a "Mutual Aid Responder".  With the concurrence of their local EC, designees will apply to the SEC for this status which, when granted, will permit the SEC or his/her designate to call upon these individuals to respond to an event outside their home jurisdiction.  The specific details of participation, training requirements, etc. will be spelled out at a later date—most likely on the ColoradoARES.org web site. There will be minimum levels of training and participation required for an individual to remain active in this role.  The model for Colorado’s mutual aid responders has already been established with the creation and operation of the Colorado ARES Disaster Response Team (DRT).  Whether the DRT remains the sole ‘repository’ for the list of mutual aid responders, availability and capability has not yet been determined. 

MOUs (formal or informal) between neighboring ARES groups do not need to follow this model—the intent of creating a "Mutual Aid Responder" is to permit the establishment of a team of trained ARES communicators who are available to be deployed to places ‘unknown’, whereas neighboring jurisdictions members ‘know’ where they’re going and ECs can ascertain amongst themselves if the level of training and preparedness is appropriate to their mutual needs.  Stay tuned as we work out the details.  When drafted, we will distribute to the EC’s for comments and when finalized we’ll distribute via all means at our disposal. 

Jurisdiction:

Traditionally, Colorado ARES has been organized into 28 geographical districts, one agency communications team (SEOC / DØ) and a mobile/portable Disaster Response Team (DRT).  The thinking is that any organized Amateur Radio emergency services would be provided by the established ARES group (if they exist) within the confines of the designated geographic boundaries. The reality is that most ARES groups have a limited set of served agencies and while some groups have plenty of available resources to take on new served agencies, many would be hard pressed to take on additional responsibilities.  Some ARES groups have one served agency and have no intention of ‘branching out’ any further.  Although there is no hard and fast rule, it is a generally accepted practice that to be a member of an ARES group, you either live or work in the jurisdiction (county) of that group. Also, aside from the special cases of  DØ and the DRT, the majority of ARES members belong to only one group. (There are many exceptions.)

We should not be rigid in our thinking with respect to how we organize and provide service.  There are several groups of hams across Colorado providing emergency services that are independent of ARES, RACES or any other state-wide label.  Some of these are clubs that have many diverse activities including an emergency response component.  Being affiliated with ARES brings the benefits of a state-wide organization with diverse talents, equipment and capability.  These assets are available to any EC in the form of mutual aid.  Such is the nature of emergency services in other arenas such as fire departments and Red Cross Disaster Services. There may be opportunities to strengthen the Colorado ARES organization by inviting other emergency service groups to affiliate with ARES.   This is just a discussion for now,  there is no specific 'end state' envisioned at this time.

 

RACES and other Amateur EMCOMM groups:   

 

The Colorado Section policy is to encourage dual membership where any served agency has sponsored a RACES unit in Colorado.  The ARRL's program is ARES, so, naturally, it is should be expected that Section leadership and local ECs promote ARES. "Dual membership" means that absent any RACES activation in response to a disaster, and outside of operations permitted under  47 USC 97.407(e), the unit operates as an ARES affiliated group.  If, however, there is no ARES mission, ECs should feel free to stand-down their support to that specific served agency. This holds true for relationships with any non-ARES EMCOMM group irrespective of what it calls itself.  While individuals are, of course, free to associate with as many organizations as they desire, ECs are under no compulsion to offer their highly trained volunteers to support  non-ARES associated organizations when there is no ARES component to the mission of a particular served agency.

 

Jeff Ryan, KØRM                                

ARRL Section Manager,                      

Colorado                                             

k0rm@arrl.net