ARES — Amateur Radio Emergency Service
ARRL-sponsored, organized by section and county under an Emergency Coordinator. Open to any licensed amateur who registers. Serves whoever asks — Red Cross, hospitals, emergency management, county government.
RACES — Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
A Part 97 provision under which amateurs operate under the direction of a civil defense or emergency management authority. Membership requires enrollment with that agency, often including a background check. In practice many counties run a combined ARES/RACES group with the same people.
Other groups you will meet
- SKYWARN — trained severe weather spotters reporting to the National Weather Service. Free
- MARS — Military Auxiliary Radio System; operates on military frequencies, requires separate
- CERT — community emergency response teams, often with an amateur radio component.
- Hospital, Red Cross and utility volunteer nets.
training, and enormously useful.
enrollment.
The relationship with the served agency
The agency sets the mission; the amateur group provides communications. Formal agreements (memoranda of understanding), identification badges and periodic joint exercises are what turn a club into a resource an agency will actually call.