• Why do I need to take FEMA courses?

  As much as they may need volunteers, many agencies are leery of using them. The State of Missouri Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has determined that all volunteers should take certain FEMA courses. This is to insure that the volunteers have some understanding of how to work with disaster relief and other professional agencies. Many local agencies follow the SEMA guidelines and insist that their own volunteers take the same FEMA course. See the Training Page for more information.

  The FEMA courses can be taken online through the FEMA Independent Study Program. The same courses are sometimes offered locally, though not on a regular basis. The courses are not particularly difficult. The locally taught courses typically run four hours. You can take as much time as you want on the online courses.

• What's with all the 'formal traffic' on the St. Louis County ARES^® net?

  During an actual emergency it is very likely that ARES^® will be used to relay messages between served agencies, shelters, disaster sites and so forth. To make sure that the messages are accurate and are properly routed they will usually be in the form of a written message sent as a 'radiogram'. We occasionally pass 'formal traffic' on the ARES^® net (usually obtained from the National Traffic System) to gain practical experience in handling radiograms. We encourage all amateur radio operators listening to the net to write down the messages for practice, even if they are not going to deliver them. (See the Message Handling page for more information.)

• St. Louis County ARES^® seems to have appeared and disappeared in the past. Why is that? Why should I believe that things have changed?

  There are a multitude of reasons for the disappearance and re-emergence of the group:

  • Most ARES^® teams located in large metropolitan areas have similar problems. The public service agencies are better organized in urban areas and the professionals are more suspicious of volunteers. In rural communities many of the citizens know each other, hence the police officers very likely know the amateur radio operators. In big cities this isn't true.
  • St. Louis County has an unusually high number of satellite communities. Whereas most large cities have about a dozen smaller towns surrounding them, St. Louis has close to one hundred. That's a lot of mayors, police chiefs and such, all protecting their own turf.
  • Although the potential for major disasters exists, we don't see many. We do get tornados and hail damage periodically, but these usually do not cause major communications failures. Earthquakes and serious floods pose a larger threat, but happen so infrequently that ARES^® volunteers lose interest and drift away from the team.

  So, what has changed?

  • Since the attack on the World Trade Center and the more recent Hurricane Katrina disaster, states, communities, and businesses have all become keenly aware of emergency preparedness. They are all working on plans, and many of those plans include backup communications. Several agencies/businesses have already contacted us.
  • After many years of independent and sometimes conflicting operations, all ARES^® groups finally have uniform guidelines to follow. These are outlined in the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course. The potential for internal conflicts within the organization greatly diminishes if all volunteers are properly trained. This training also gives us more credibility with served agencies.
  • The focus of ARES^® has shifted to include a broader range of served agencies. Large police and fire departments may still have some need of our services, but hospitals, schools, and other agencies without redundant communications systems will likely need us even more.

• Why is there a St. Louis County ARES^® and also a St. Louis City ARES^®?

  Missouri ARES^® teams are organized by county. St. Louis City is not located within St. Louis County. It is a separate geopolitical entity and therefore has its own ARES^® group.

  At this time there is no St. Louis City ARES^® team. Any amateur radio operator interested in forming a group may apply to be the Emergency Coordinator.

• What's the difference between St. Louis County ARES^® and St. Louis County RACES?

  St. Louis County RACES is run by Mike Redman of the St. Louis County Office of Emergency Management. It operates the SKYWARN program in St. Louis County for the local office of the National Weather Service. It primarily focuses on real-time severe weather events.

  St. Louis County ARES^® is managed by the Missouri Section of the American Radio Relay League. It focuses on real-time and post-disaster communications emergencies. It provides backup and alternative communications to local agencies whose own systems have failed or are overwhelmed.

• Can I belong to both organizations?

  Sure. Many of us do. In most cases your services will not be needed by both organizations at the same time.

• Can I join more than one ARES^® team?

  You can, but most disaster and relief organizations discourage you from 'wearing too many hats'. They want to know that if they train you, you will make a reasonable effort to make yourself available to them during a disaster. If you join several organizations that will need your services at the same time, you may be asked to declare a 'primary allegiance'.

  The American Radio Relay League recommends that you join the ARES^® team in the community where your residence is located.

• When are you guys going to do something?

  For every moment of glory there are hundreds of man-hours of preparation. We have been painstakingly building the organization, learning, training and preparing ourselves, making contacts, pursuing served agencies, and recruiting. All of these are slow processes and require a lot of dedication, patience, and hard work.

  Our efforts have been rewarded and we are finalizing an agreement with the St. Louis area Veterans Administration Medical Center. Once the Memorandum Of Understanding has been signed we will be performing training and exercises with the VAMC.

  Beyond this, we hold frequent training sessions, seminars, and field exercises. You are invited to participate.

• When you have a real emergency, can I help?

  The time to get involved is now. Join us. Let us train you and help you prepare. Let us learn what your strengths, talents, and interests are. We won't have time to do any of this when a real emergency arises.

• I'm not sure if I'm ready to join. What should I do?

  There are several things you can do while you consider whether or not to join. You can check in to our weekly 2 meter net without being a member. You can monitor our on-air exercises. You can drop by our table at area hamfests. Or you can contact our Emergency Coordinator (see contacts page) directly. He will be happy to answer all of your questions.

• Where can I find your "net script"?

  The "script" for the weekly 2 meter net can be found on the Voice Net Operations page.

• If I join, can I expect to work emergencies?

  Conditionally, yes.
  Our Team Members and Training pages describe what we'd like you to do and what training you will need before you can be dispatched to an emergency. In addition, you will need to inform the Emergency Coordinator that you would like to be put on the "deployment list". We do not send ARES^® members to emergencies unless they have been adequately trained and have expressed a desire and willingness to work.

© 2008 St. Louis County ARES^®

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