Welcome! And Thank You!!

Level 2 RRT response follows within a few hours, bringing additional resources and operators.

• Level 2 RRT response follows within a few hours, bringing additional resources and operators.

• Level 1 teams have:

• Pre-assigned jobs
• Short-term (12-24 hour) "jump kits", ready to go whenever the call comes

• Level 2 teams have:

• Longer term (72 hour) jump kits, and
• A variety of other equipment, possibly including tents, portable repeaters, extended food and water supplies, sleeping gear, spare radios, and generators

Communication emergency which lasts longer than a day or two, or when the scale of the emergency is beyond the ability of a local ARES group to handle

• Communication emergency which lasts longer than a day or two, or when the scale of the emergency is beyond the ability of a local ARES group to handle

• Help can be requested from neighboring areas

• ARESMAT teams consist of hams who are willing and able to travel to another area for a period to assist ARES groups based in the disaster area

• May also bring additional resources in the form of radios, antennas, and other critical equipment

• If you travel to another area as part of an ARESMAT, remember that the local group you are supporting is still in charge

• You are there to do what they need done
• The host ARES group becomes a "served agency"

Pre-Departure Functions

• Pre-Departure Functions

• Notification of activation/assignment
• Credentials should be provided for recognition by local authorities
• Provide a general and technical briefing on information from the requesting authority
• Invitation, transportation (including routes in disaster area) and accommodations considerations, and expected length of deployment should all also be reviewed with the team members

In-Travel Functions  Team leaders should review situation's status:

• In-Travel Functions  Team leaders should review situation's status:

• Job assignments
• Checklists
• Affected area profile
• Mission disaster relief plan
• Strengths and weaknesses of previous and current responses
• Maps
• Technical documents
• Contact lists
• Tactical operation procedures
• Response team requirements

Arrival Functions

• Arrival Functions

• Check with host ARES officials and obtain information about:
• Frequencies in use
• Current actions
• Available personnel
• Communication and computer equipment
• Support facilities that could be used by the team to support the relief effort

• Host's ARES plan in effect for the disaster should be obtained

• Establishment of an initial intra-team communication network and an HF or VHF channel back to the home section for morale traffic

“In-situ Functions”

• “In-situ Functions”

• Make an initial assessment of functioning communication facilities
• Monitor host ARES officials' communications, and other response team relief efforts to coordinate operations and reduce duplication of effort
• Team members should be monitored and their capabilities to perform their duties evaluated
• Proper safety practices and procedures must be followed
• Daily critique of communication effectiveness with served units and communication personnel should be conducted

Pre-Demobilization and Demobilization Functions

• Pre-Demobilization and Demobilization Functions

• Extraction procedure should be negotiated with served agencies and host ARES officials before it is needed
• To get volunteers' commitment to travel and participate, they must be assured that there will be an end to their commitment
• Open-ended commitments of volunteers are undesirable, partly because they make potential volunteers hesitate to become involved
• Leaders  coordinate with host ARES officials and served agencies to determine when equipment and personnel are no longer needed

Pre-Demobilization and Demobilization Functions (continued)

• Pre-Demobilization and Demobilization Functions (continued)

• A team critique, begun on the trip home, should be conducted, and individual performance evaluations on team members should be prepared
• Copies of critiques should be sent to both the home SEC and in-disaster SEC
• Problems stemming from personality conflicts should be addressed and/or resolved outside of formal reports, as they only provide distractions to the reports
• Equipment should be accounted for.
• A post-event evaluation meeting should always be conducted, and a final report prepared upon which an update to the inter-sectional ARESMAT plan can be made

Remember, the “we can handle it” syndrome is common

• Remember, the “we can handle it” syndrome is common

• As soon as you suspect mutual assistance is needed, the EC should notify the DEC or SEC