ARES is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, the field arm of the American Radio Relay League. 

Our special focus is the use of Amateur Radio for emergency communications, and the recruiting and training of a pool of skilled radio operators to be available in times of emergency.

ARES in Connecticut partners with state and municipal governments, public health entities, and non-profit providers such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army. 

ARES members have their own radios and many can respond from their homes and vehicles, allowing ad hoc ARES nets to form using operators who are already in place when a disaster wipes out communications infrastructure. This means ARES functions even when the roads are blocked and the electric and telecom grids are jammed or down.

Amateur radio can be used to

• pass welfare traffic ("Aunt Minnie made it safely to the community shelter"),
• forward requests from stranded facilities ("the XYZ nursing home urgently needs oxygen bottles"),
• Pass status messages from outlying hospitals to the central reporting agency ("hospital A has 23 beds available"),
• Digitally convey sitreps, ICS forms, maps and photos to an incident command post
• Act as an email gateway to a functioning part of the Internet via long-distance HF radio to another state or country.

To keep our operators trained and equipment working, we provide Public Service communications at no charge.  ARES members volunteer for service at charity races, runs, walks, parades, and other large events.  Operators man checkpoints, observe along the course, circulate in large venues.  They contribute to public safety, guiding first responders to where they are needed, clearing the way for emergency vehicles, and reporting incidents to the Unified Command post.

Our radios work where cell phones can't get dial tone or coverage, and are interoperable where the specialized public safety and commercial radios are not.

For a  detailed list of training available, see the training page of the state ARES web site, CTARES.ORG.

IMPORTANT!  Whenever there is an ARES activation, leadership will notify and assign tasks ONLY to those who have current records in the ARES member database.  Go to www.ctares.org and update your record now!

Have you thought about how you would communicate if your favorite repeater was down?  Our major amateur linked repeater net controller in Vernon was down for a few hours this past Sunday. (Kudos to Dana Underhill for getting it on the air in time for the ARES net!!) And I get several reports every day while working for an international corporation, that a high-speed fiber line was cut accidentally in some city or town across the country. Even the most carefully maintained systems can go down once in a while. 

Have you practiced using alternate repeaters and simplex means of communicating in your town, and liaising to neighboring towns and regional assets?