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The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is the primary emergency communications programme of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in the United States. ARES organizes licensed amateur radio operators into trained teams that can provide communication support during emergencies, disasters, and public service events when conventional systems are overloaded or inoperable.
ARES is the largest volunteer emergency communication organization in the United States, with thousands of registered members organized at the local, district, section, and national levels.
ARES was established by the ARRL in 1935, originally as the Emergency Corps. The programme was reorganized and renamed the Amateur Radio Emergency Service in 1964. Over the decades, ARES has evolved from an informal network of willing volunteers into a structured organization with defined training requirements, leadership roles, and operational procedures.
ARES underwent a significant modernization in 2019 with the introduction of ARES Connect, an online platform for member registration, event management, and volunteer hour tracking. This update also introduced standardized training levels and more formal qualification requirements.
ARES operates within the ARRL's existing field organization structure:
The fundamental ARES unit is the local team, typically organized at the county level. Each local team is led by an Emergency Coordinator (EC) appointed by the section leadership. The EC is responsible for recruiting and training volunteers, maintaining relationships with local emergency management agencies, and coordinating activations.
Local teams may include:
In larger sections, multiple county-level teams are grouped into districts overseen by a District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). The DEC coordinates activities across counties and manages situations that cross local boundaries.
Each ARRL section (roughly corresponding to a state, province, or large metropolitan area) has a Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) who oversees all ARES activities in the section. The SEC works with the ARRL Section Manager and coordinates with state-level emergency management agencies.
ARES programme policy and national coordination are managed through the ARRL headquarters staff, working with the national-level ARES leadership.
Any licensed amateur radio operator can register for ARES. ARRL membership is encouraged but not required. Registration is done through the ARES Connect platform at the ARRL website.
ARES uses a tiered training system:
Level 1 (Basic):
Level 2 (Intermediate):
Level 3 (Advanced):
The FEMA Independent Study courses (IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800) are free and available online at the FEMA Emergency Management Institute website. These courses teach the Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS), which are the standard frameworks used by emergency responders in the United States.
ARES activation typically follows a defined escalation process:
Monitoring. Local ARES teams monitor weather conditions, news, and emergency management channels for developing situations.
Alert. When a potential event is identified, the EC or DEC may issue an alert, putting team members on notice that activation may be needed.
Activation. The EC (or higher authority) formally activates ARES when a served agency requests communication support, or when conditions clearly warrant it. Activation may be partial (specific capabilities needed) or full (all available members).
Deployment. Activated members report to assigned locations — which may include emergency operations centres (EOCs), shelters, hospitals, staging areas, or field positions. Members deploy with their go kits.
Operations. ARES teams establish communication networks using emergency nets, relay messages, provide situational awareness, and support served agencies.
Demobilization. As the emergency subsides or professional systems are restored, ARES operations are scaled down and eventually deactivated.
After-action review. Following significant activations, teams conduct after-action reviews to identify lessons learned and improve future response.
ARES teams work with a variety of "served agencies" — organizations that request and benefit from amateur radio communication support. Common served agencies include:
A critical principle of ARES operation is that the team works for the served agency. ARES provides the communication capability; the served agency directs what needs to be communicated. This relationship is typically formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the local ARES group and each served agency.
ARES and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) are separate but complementary programmes. ARES is a volunteer programme run by the ARRL, while RACES is a government programme under FEMA. In many communities, the same operators participate in both programmes. Some jurisdictions have integrated their ARES and RACES operations under a combined structure, sometimes called "ARES/RACES."
The key practical difference: ARES can self-activate and operates at the discretion of its leadership, while RACES can only be activated by a government authority (typically during a declared emergency). RACES participants operate under the direct authority of the emergency management agency.
ARES teams typically maintain capabilities across several areas: