How to Join ARES or RACES: Emergency Communications Volunteer Guide

Why Your Ham License Matters When Things Go Wrong

September 2017. Hurricane Irma has knocked out cell towers, internet, and landlines across most of Southwest Florida. The local EOC needs damage reports from neighborhoods cut off from communication. Who's relaying that traffic? A dozen ARES volunteers running HF and VHF nets from their home stations and a few others deployed to shelters with go-boxes.

I was one of those volunteers. Not because I was particularly heroic — I'd signed up eight months earlier, done the training, participated in the monthly nets, and when the activation came, I was ready. That's what ARES and RACES are: preparation and readiness, so that when the worst happens, you're not scrambling to figure out who does what.

ARES vs. RACES: What's the Difference?

These two programs get confused constantly, even by licensed hams. They're related but structurally different.

ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service)

ARES is an ARRL program. It's volunteer-based, organized at the county level, and serves a wide range of agencies: Red Cross, Salvation Army, hospitals, local emergency management, FEMA, and more. ARES groups activate for weather events, public service events (marathons, parades), search and rescue, and any situation where communications infrastructure is overwhelmed or damaged.

ARES is the larger, more active program in most areas. Most counties with active ham populations have some form of ARES group.

RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service)

RACES operates under direct government authority — specifically, it's authorized under FCC Part 97.407 and operates under local, county, or state emergency management agencies. RACES volunteers are registered with their local government and can only be activated by a government official (typically the county or state emergency management director).

During a RACES activation, participants are limited to communicating with other RACES stations and civil defense organizations. It's narrower in scope but carries government backing. In practice, many hams are registered with both ARES and RACES — a dual registration that gives maximum flexibility during an emergency.

Which Should You Join?

If your area has both, join both. There's no conflict. If you have to pick one, ARES is more active in most regions — more nets, more training exercises, more drills. RACES tends to activate only for declared emergencies. The training requirements for both are largely the same.

The ARES/RACES Organizational Structure

Understanding the chain matters because you'll be working within it.

ARES Structure (Bottom to Top)

• Members — General volunteers. Participate in nets, training, and activations.
• Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC) — Appointed by the EC to handle specific tasks (net manager, training coordinator, liaison to a served agency).
• Emergency Coordinator (EC) — Leads the county-level ARES group. Appointed by the Section Emergency Coordinator. This is your primary point of contact.
• District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) — Coordinates multiple counties within an ARRL section. Steps in when events cross county lines.
• Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) — Oversees all ARES activity within an ARRL section (usually one state). Appointed by the Section Manager.

In practice, your world is the EC and your local group. The DEC and SEC come into play during major events that span multiple counties or the whole state.

RACES Structure

RACES typically mirrors your local emergency management structure. You'll report to a RACES officer (often a ham who's also employed by or contracted with the county EM office). The overall authority is the local emergency management director or their designee.

How to Sign Up: Step by Step

Step 1: Get Your License in Order

You need at minimum a Technician-class license. That's it — no Extra or General required, though higher-class licenses give you access to more HF frequencies useful during wide-area emergencies. Make sure your FCC license is current and your address is updated in the ULS database.

Step 2: Find Your Local Group

Start here:

• ARRL website → "Get Involved" → "ARES" → search by state/county
• Ask at your local ham radio club meeting — someone will know the EC
• Search "[your county] ARES" or "[your county] amateur radio emergency" online
• Contact your ARRL Section Manager (listed on arrl.org) and ask for the local EC's contact info

If your county doesn't have an active ARES group (it happens in rural areas), contact the DEC or SEC for your section. They can point you to the nearest active group or help you start one.

Step 3: Attend a Meeting or Net

Most ARES groups hold monthly meetings (in person or via repeater net, sometimes both). Show up. Introduce yourself. Express interest. This is low-commitment — you're learning what the group does and whether it's a good fit.

The weekly or monthly net is often on a local VHF/UHF repeater. Participation is as simple as checking in with your callsign when the net control asks. Do this consistently for a month or two to show you're serious.

Step 4: Fill Out the Registration Form

For ARES: Your EC will have an ARES registration form (ARRL provides a standard one). It asks for your callsign, license class, contact info, equipment capabilities, and availability. No background check, no fees.

For RACES: Contact your county emergency management office. They'll have a registration process that may include a background check (since you'd be operating under government authority and might access secure facilities). Some counties require you to complete FEMA training before registering; others let you register and then complete training within a specified timeframe (usually 6-12 months).

Step 5: Complete Required Training

This is where most people get tripped up — not because it's hard, but because they don't do it.

Training Requirements: What You Actually Need

FEMA ICS Courses (The Non-Negotiable Ones)

Both ARES and RACES expect you to complete FEMA's Independent Study (IS) courses in the Incident Command System (ICS). These are free, online, self-paced at training.fema.gov. Here's what's typically required:

1. IS-100.c — Introduction to Incident Command System. The foundation. Takes 2-3 hours. Covers ICS structure, roles, and terminology.
2. IS-200.c — Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response. Builds on IS-100 with unified command and multi-agency coordination. About 3-4 hours.
3. IS-700.b — National Incident Management System (NIMS). Framework for how different agencies work together. About 3 hours.
4. IS-800.d — National Response Framework. How federal resources integrate with local response. About 3 hours.

Total time investment: roughly 12-15 hours of online coursework. You get certificates you can print. Your EC will want copies. Some ARES groups only require IS-100 and IS-700 initially, with IS-200 and IS-800 within the first year. Ask your EC which are mandatory for your group.

Additional Useful Training

• ARRL Emergency Communication courses (EC-001, EC-016) — Paid online courses specific to ham radio EmComm. EC-001 ("Introduction to Emergency Communication") is excellent. About $50 and runs 5-8 weeks with weekly assignments. Not required everywhere, but highly recommended.
• Skywarn training — Free, offered by your local NWS office. Teaches you to identify and report severe weather. Most ARES groups strongly encourage this.
• Local emergency plan training — Your county EM office may offer orientation sessions. Worth attending.

Ongoing Training

This isn't one-and-done. Active ARES groups run quarterly exercises (simulated emergency deployments), weekly or monthly nets (check-ins, message-passing practice), and periodic refresher sessions. Most groups expect participation in at least 50-75% of training events. If you disappear for six months, you'll probably be listed as inactive.

Realistic Time Commitment

Here's what ongoing membership actually looks like in a moderately active county ARES group:

ActivityFrequencyTime Per EventMonthly TotalWeekly net check-inWeekly15-30 minutes1-2 hoursMonthly meetingMonthly1-2 hours1-2 hoursTraining exerciseQuarterly2-4 hours~1 hour (averaged)Public service event2-4/year4-8 hours~2 hours (averaged)Actual activation1-3/year (varies wildly)4-72 hoursUnpredictable

Steady-state commitment: roughly 4-6 hours per month. During a real activation, that goes up dramatically — 12-hour shifts are common during hurricanes or major events. Nobody expects you to drop your job, but if you're registered and capable, your group is counting on you to show up when they need you.

Equipment You'll Need

You don't need to spend thousands. Here's a practical starting kit:

• Dual-band VHF/UHF handheld — For local nets and repeater access. Yaesu FT-60R or similar. $150-200.
• Mobile or base VHF/UHF radio — 50W output for reliable communication from home. Connects to an external antenna on your roof or in the attic. $200-400.
• External antenna — A simple J-pole or ground plane on the roof dramatically outperforms an HT's rubber duck. $30-80 for a J-pole.
• HF capability — Not required immediately, but valuable for wide-area events. Your existing HF station works. If you don't have one yet, it can wait until you're more involved.
• Go-box — A portable station kit for deployment. Build this after you've been active for 6+ months and understand your group's needs.
• Power backup — Even a small battery (7-20 Ah LiFePO4) keeps your VHF radio running during a power outage. This is baseline preparedness.

What You'll Actually Do During an Activation

The Hollywood version: heroic operators saving lives with dramatic messages. The reality: structured, often tedious message handling that nonetheless matters enormously.

Typical ARES activation tasks:

• Staffing a net and relaying traffic between the EOC and field stations
• Deploying to a shelter, hospital, or fire station to provide backup communication
• Passing formal written traffic (ICS-213 message forms) between agencies
• Providing damage reports and situational awareness from neighborhoods without cell service
• Running a Winlink node for email traffic when internet is down
• Monitoring weather frequencies and relaying NWS bulletins

It's unglamorous. You might sit at a radio for 8 hours and pass 15 messages. But those 15 messages might include a shelter requesting medical supplies, a road closure report that reroutes emergency vehicles, or a welfare check that reunites a family. It matters.

Common Questions from New Volunteers

"What if I can't respond to every activation?" — That's fine. Life happens. Communicate your availability to your EC. Groups plan around who's actually available, not who's on the roster. Just don't be the person who never shows up.

"I'm just a Tech — am I useful?" — Absolutely. Most EmComm happens on VHF/UHF repeaters. Your Technician license covers everything you need for local response. If you want to support regional HF nets, upgrade to General when you're ready.

"Do I need to buy a bunch of expensive gear?" — No. Start with what you have. An HT and the ability to hit your local repeater gets you into nets and basic deployment. Upgrade gradually based on what your group actually needs.

"Is there any legal liability?" — Good Samaritan laws and government volunteer protections (like the Volunteer Protection Act) generally cover ARES/RACES volunteers. During RACES activation under government authority, you may have additional protections. Ask your EC about your state's specific provisions.