Nassau County
ARES
GLORIA, 1985, LI Sound
2005 News Story
Mineola, NY.
2003
ARES assisting the
Red Cross
Long Beach Recovery
Sandy 2012
races is THE AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE, AS AUTHORIZED BY FCC RULES
Many ARES members are also RACES members.RACES is a separate organization from ARES that operates under FCC rules and the seal of the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management (OEM). The RACES protocol defines how and when authorized Amateur Radio operators may provide communications for state and local government, and is activated when OEM proclaims a declared or undeclared emergency.
In Nassau County, RACES is activated by the OEM Director. The Director of RACES staff includes the Deputy Director, Chief Radio Officer and the Deputy CRO. The CRO oversees the Administrative, Logistics, Operations, Planning and Deployment of RACES amateur radio operators. At the New York State level, RACES is managed by the State Emergency Management Office.
When Activated by Nassau County, RACES operators work together with ARES. We share weekly Nets and most RACES operators are ARES Members.
Nationally, the ARES organization is an 80,000 member organization coordinated by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). At the local level in Nassau County, ARES is managed by a District Emergency Coordinator (DEC), Assistant DEC, Emergency Coordinators (EC) and Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC). ARES Members are assigned under EC's.
ARES EC’s report to the District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) who in turn reports to a Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) for the 15-county Eastern New York Section. The SEC reports to the Section Manager (SM), who is elected to that position by the ARRL Section membership, as is the Hudson Division Director and Vice Director.
ARES' technically-oriented Amateur Radio operators are a significant resource in filling the gaps in communications systems and they excel at responding to changing communications conditions and needs. Examples include ARES assistance to Red Cross mass shelters for logistical communications and status report traffic, in order to keep emergency radio systems open to EOC personnel to focus on life safety, property and enviornmental protection. Fire Battalion EOC's also contain amateur radio equipment to provide an additional resource for shelter and situational information.
ARES members own and operate sophisticated radio equipment that operates across many radio bands. Because of this, ARES is able to establish ad hoc communications links between groups who may not otherwise have interoperability. ARES can also provide services that some agencies may not have, such as the capability to provide email and digital data without local ISP's or commercial power. Some ARES stations also have satellite communications systems as well as ATV equipment at their disposal. ARES members also own high frequency radio apparatus having international communications capability. No other County operation has the band width of ARES.
The Nov '13 typhoon tragedy in the Philippines is a current example of international assistance provided by amateur radio operators to deliver vital emergency communications when all other means have failed.
The Role of Nassau County ARES in Emergency Communications
Locally, Nassau County ARES provides needed communications support to the American Red Cross during times of crisis, and to government agencies during communications failures like that which occurred during Sandy, the massive 2003 East Coast black out and after the 9/11 attack.
Nationally, Amateur Radio's ability to assist others during disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, are legendary, and hams efforts contribute directly to saving the lives and property of countless people.
And that's something we've All been very proud of since 1935
In recognizing its importance to the Nation in times of crisis, and its value for good will, research and experimentation, the FCC distinguishes Amateur Radio from professional radio services, such as Commercial Broadcast Radio, by granting amateurs FCC Licensed privileges to employ much of the radio spectrum for our communications, public services needs and for experimentation.
The FCC also prohibits compensation to Amateur Radio operators for their services.
NY TIMES
a Hurricane?
2003
SANDY 2012
AK1NS
IRENE 2011
Nassau County ARES
IRENE 2011
NY TIMES
Great Neck Train Station
Irene, 2011 photo by NBC News
When All Else Fails
Ham Radio Works
And So Do We
(Cover photo by Larry Mulvehill, WB2ZPI)