ARES Strategic Plan By Samantha Henley

Hello, all!

KE0LMY here!

With the creation, review, passing, and acceptance of the ARES Strategic Plan for the entire program, we will now overhaul our SOP and EAP.  I was personally holding out for this guide specifically to see how it would affect both for our county.

First, you can find our new page here:  ARES Strategic Plan.  You will definitely want to review it.

Second, here is the GREAT news.  There was contention over which courses/training would be necessary for ARES members nationwide.  The ARRL has created levels and determined which FEMA IS courses, in-seat courses, and ARRL training needed for these levels.

Here is what those look like:

Three levels of training will allow ARES participants to enter the program and migrate to higher levels of
qualification and service.

• Level 1 — This is the primary level for those who choose a non-leadership role as well as those new to Amateur Radio or emergency communications. This introductory training is conducted by the local ARES group to meet their needs and those of their served agency or partners. This training could be formal or informal, and would introduce the ARES participant to the fundamentals of emergency communications and provide instruction on how participants are to conduct themselves while serving in the field or otherwise activated. Participants may elect to remain at this level, or any level, based upon the extent of their desired ARES involvement.
• Level 2 — To qualify for this level, participants shall have completed the following courses:  ARRL’s EC-001 Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (a no-cost program) and FEMA IS-100, IS-200, IS 700, and IS-800. Participants are also encouraged to take advantage of training opportunities available through partners to enhance their knowledge and skill set.
• Level 3 — This level of training prepares ARES participants to take on leadership positions such as EC, ADEC, DEC, ASEC, and SEC, and other designated positions in the ARES program.  Participants are required to complete ARRL’s EC-016, Emergency Communications for Management, when available along with FEMA Professional Development Series of courses IS120, IS-230, IS-240, IS-241, IS-242, IS-244, and IS-288 the Role of voluntary Organizations in Emergency Management. Participants also are encouraged to complete the FEMA courses IS300, and IS-400 should they be available locally.

If you recall, the BC ARES recently adopted a four level system to bring it into line with the rest of the volunteer organizations working with/under the Benton County, MO Emergency Management Agency.  These new ARES levels line up directly with our Levels 2-4 (our Level 1 members are not active in the group unless a real world emergency occurs at which point the extent is that we call to check on them a.k.a. Health and Welfare members).  I will release a more specific breakdown in my EC Blog for this month and we will cover it at our meeting on Saturday, March 9 at 9 AM at the Benton County 911 building.

Finally, it is wonderful to see that the ARRL/ARES leadership listened to feedback and did not force members to do more than they are willing to do in order to become or remain members of the ARES groups.  I know I and many other ECs really appreciate the effort they went through to not make our “job” more difficult!

See you all this weekend!

73,

Sam Henley KE0LMY