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P O L I C I E S A N D G U I D E L I N E S F O R T H E RADIO AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE in the S T A T E O F C A L I F O R N I A Issued August 1985 REVISED April 15, 1992 POLICIES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE RADIO AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE I N D E X TITLE PAGE Index................................................... 2 1.0 DEFINITIONS ............................................ 3 1.1 Function 1.2 RACES 1.3 RACES Radio Officer 1.4 Communications Officer 1.5 State RACES Coordinator 1.6 Levels of RACES 1.7 ARES 2.0 UTILIZATION ............................................ 4 Frequent usage, training activities, administrative and operational procedures, non-emergency missions 3.0 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT ............................ 5 3.1 In what department to locate the RACES function 3.2 Operational Area concept 3.3 Regions may enroll where no county RACES exists 3.4 Competent volunteer staff required 3.5 Appointing a RACES Radio Officer 3.6 One RACES unit per government 3.7 State of California Government RACES organization 3.8 RACES staff organization 3.9 Radio Officers are unpaid volunteer employees 3.10 Radio Officers responsible for RACES plans 3.11 Radio Officer's place in table of organization 4.0 RACES PLANS ............................................ 7 4.1 Guidelines and format 4.2 Wartime and peacetime applications 4.3 Use of annexes for perishable data 4.4 Frequency coordination responsibilities 4.5 County RACES Plan 4.6 Concurrence/approval signatures 5.0 ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS ................................ 9 5.1 Applications 5.2 Communications class of Disaster Service Workers 5.3 Local record checks 5.4 Identification cards 5.5 Sign in/Sign out records POLICIES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE RADIO AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE 1.0 DEFINITIONS 1.1 FUNCTION. The primary function of RACES is to establish and maintain communications to support government operations during times of emergency with Amateur radio by persons properly enrolled, and in California registered as Disaster Service Workers. An emergency may be single or concurrent incidents, or a major natural or manmade disaster. An incident can involve two or more agencies of the same government or more than one government. 1.2 RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) personnel are volunteer government employees and enjoy certain benefits and protection when activated for an emergency, training, or work party under proper authority. RACES is not a club, detached group, or self-governing activity. 1.3 RACES RADIO OFFICER. That person, a licensed Radio Amateur, appointed by the government as chief of its RACES program. The RACES Radio Officer (or called simply the Radio Officer) is considered key staff and part of the initial response team to the EOC (Emergency Operations Center). The Radio Officer usually reports to the Communications Officer or to the OES Coordinator in his absence. 1.4 COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER. That person responsible for the overall telecommunications planning, operations and maintenance for the EOC and the governmental jurisdiction. The Communications Officer is key staff and is a part of the initial response team to the EOC. The Communications Officer usually reports direct to the OES Coordinator. At State OES Region offices/EOC's, the Region Communications Coordinator serves this role. 1.5 STATE RACES COORDINATOR. That person, a licensed Radio Amateur, assigned by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (the State OES) to manage and coordinate the RACES program in California. The position is assisted by the State Radio Officer and other volunteer staff. 1.6 LEVELS OF RACES. The levels of RACES are the same as the levels of government in California (i.e., State, county, and city). State RACES personnel and equipment support the State OES headquarters, its six regions, mobile strike teams and relay stations. There are county RACES organizations and city RACES programs. 1.7 ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) is administered by the ARRL (American Amateur Relay League), the national association that represents Amateur Radio operators. ARRL and ARES identify those Amateurs who are genuinely interested in emergency and public service communications. ARES largely supports the non-State and local government needs for Amateur Radio -- such as the American Red Cross, other relief organizations, and the important task of post-disaster health and welfare messages. Many RACES personnel are also ARES members. Whereas this may appear to be a conflict, OES/government need for Amateur communications (e.g., RACES) may typically be about 10% of the total Amateur radio involvement in a disaster and the other 90% are performing ARES-related communications. State OES joins ARRL in urging all Amateurs to be in both ARES and RACES. ARES is managed on the local level by ARRL-appointed emergency coordinators or EC's. The area served by an EC may include several counties and cities. 2.0 UTILIZATION 2.1 RACES personnel proficiency and equipment readiness is maintained through frequent employment in incident communications, exercises, drills, training and related activities, including the installation, maintenance and operation of RACES equipment. Skilled and properly licensed technicians may also be an emergency maintenance resource during a communications emergency. 2.2 A jurisdiction's OES need not necessarily be involved in an incident for its RACES resources to be activated and utilized. A brush fire or other incident, for example, may not directly involve a local government OES but may use its RACES resources. Whereas an OES does not sponsor a marathon, it may sanction the use of its RACES as an approved training exercise. 2.3 Administrative procedures should be developed by the local government OES so that other agencies within the same government may promptly obtain RACES support when needed. The development of standard operating procedures is a function of the Radio Officer position. Certain radio operating procedures are already established for commonality and standardization. 2.4 A state of emergency does not have to exist or be declared to activate RACES. Every effort should be made, in fact, to use RACES resources as frequently as possible so as to maintain both personnel and equipment in a continuing state of readiness and proficiency. 2.5 Opportunities to utilize RACES resources include, but not limited to, the following: ? Meetings, training, weekly nets, administrative, and other work at the EOC, office, or elsewhere; including installation and work parties. ? Holiday/special event traffic reports. Communications for government during races, marathons, fairs, and other public events. ? Hospital nets. ? Radio link between the EOC or Incident Command and the primary Emergency Broadcast System station(s). ? Hazardous material spill or incident. ? Rainfall/stream level observation and reports during a storm. Severe weather observations and reports. (Prior training from the NWS is required.) ? ATV (Amateur Television) from the National Weather Service forecast office to the EOC for periodic briefings during severe weather incidents. ? Hostage situation. (ATV transmits high resolution color pictures back to the EOC or law enforcement HQ for training purposes.) ? Forest and wild fires. ? Floods. ? Point-to-point links during telephone outages. ? Interstate mutual aid missions: forest fires, etc. ? Landslides with long detours in remote areas: provide phone patches for the inconvenienced motorists. 3.0 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 3.1 RACES is typically managed by the local government's office of emergency services/civil defense. In some counties RACES is administered by the sheriff and in some cities by the fire or police chief. 3.2 It is recommended that a county OES administer one RACES program to serve all of the county and its cities whenever practical to more effectively manage and utilize a limited resource--Amateur radio operators. RACES personnel may thus be preassigned to particular cities or geographic areas. Separate city OES RACES organizations should be generally employed only when a city is a large jurisdiction (500,000 or larger) or where a county cannot administer a countywide RACES program. 3.3 In those counties where no OES/Civil Defense council (disaster council, Stats. 1946 lst Ex. Sess., Ch. 104, as amended by Stats. 1971, Ch. 38) exists, Amateur radio operators may be enrolled by the State OES Region RACES in which they reside. 3.4 The administration of any RACES organization and program requires competent, qualified, and dedicated volunteer staff similar to other government volunteer programs; i.e., reserve deputy sheriffs, volunteer firefighters, reserve police officers, search and rescue, and similar programs requiring trained and disciplined volunteers. 3.5 Any jurisdiction employing RACES resources will appoint a RACES Radio Officer, referred hereinafter as the Radio Officer. A county (or city) Radio Officer reports to a superior in that same local government, most often its Communications Officer or OES Coordinator. 3.6 The use of Amateur radio operators in any local government is established by only one agency by and for that government. (Reference FCC S97.169(b), S97.177, S97.191, and S97191 et al.) Different departments will not operate separate Amateur radio programs. All requirements for Amateur radio support will be channeled to the county (or city) Radio Officer, as appropriate. 3.7 State Government RACES organization. State OES communications coordinators (Telecommunications Division assistant chiefs) assigned to an OES Region or Regions administer their region radio officer(s). A State OES communications coordinator is the State RACES coordinator who, in turn, appoints the chief radio officer and deputy chief radio officers (North and South). The OES headquarters staff coordinates with, but does not direct, the OES Region RACES staffs. The State OES headquarters has a State RACES Coordinator and a State Chief Radio Officer; each of its six regions will have a Region Radio Officer. There may be two deputy chief radio officers; one for North (OES Regions 2,3,4 and 5) and one for South (Regions 1 and 6). Region Radio Officers report to their respective Region Communications Coordinators. All are a part and resource of the State OES Telecommunications Division. In the absence of the region communications coordinator, a region radio officer reports to the OES Region Manager. Region radio officers promote the development and utilization of the Amateur Radio resources, RACES plans, and RACES organizations throughout the Region; provide a resource management capability for mutual aid; and maintain close liaison with ARRL officials. Region radio officers appoint and manage their assistants and staff. They coordinate with county radio officers but have no direction or control over them. Region radio officers report to their OES Region communications coordinator and/or the Region manager. 3.8 Radio Officers at all levels will appoint a staff to assist them in properly carrying out a viable RACES program capability to support their jurisdiction. Assistant radio officers should be appointed to (a) serve in the absence of the radio officer in an emergency and (b) to carry out day to day administrative functions. The latter may include training, administration, personnel, operations, maintenance, public relations, et cetera. State OES has prepared written job descriptions for radio officers and operators that may be used by all levels of RACES management; they may be modified and expanded to meet local requirements. 3.9 The Radio Officer is the principal management volunteer through whom the local government jurisdiction employs RACES resources. In this regard the jurisdiction should support the position with work space, clerical, mailing, telephone use and other costs or assistance normally associated with program management. 3.10 The Radio Officer and staff is responsible for preparing, amending and updating a local government RACES Plan that conforms to the requirements of the Federal and State governments. 3.11 The Radio Officer position reports to the RACES Coordinator where one is used in the management structure. At the local level, the emergency management agency may prefer that the Radio Officer report to their telecommunications director, operations manager, or similar position in the agency or in another department of the same county or municipal government. If a RACES coordinator is employed, it is recommended it be a position oriented towards emergency operations and preferably not a position limited primarily to the technical or maintenance functions in telecommunications. 4.0 RACES PLANS 4.1 State OES provides the guidelines and format for the RACES Plan. The local governments and the six State OES Regions must adapt the format to satisfy their unique needs. These factors should be kept in mind when selecting and appointing Radio Officers. 4.2 RACES Plans will address both wartime and peacetime applications. 4.3 Much of the old RACES plan format contained temporary, perishable, operational and otherwise variable information that made them unwieldy and cumbersome to amend. The new California format moves this type of information into annexes which the jurisdiction may more readily update and issue as required. The basic plan body will include a signatory page (see para. 4.6). The annexes will not require a signatory page, thereby facilitating amended pages as often as required with the least burden. Names, rosters, resources, frequencies and other perishable information will henceforth appear in appropriate annexes or standard operating procedures in accordance with the State's model plan. 4.4 All radio Officers will coordinate frequencies through their OES Region prior to writing or amending frequencies in any plan. Inter-region coordination will also be accomplished, where required, before transmitting the plan to State OES headquarters through their appropriate Region headquarters. 4.5 Every county RACES plan must address three basic levels of communications: 4.5.1 Intra-government requirements. 4.5.2 County to city governments; i.e., EOC to EOC. 4.5.3 County to Region. Note: Counties do not normally comm- unicate directly to State OES headquarters in Sacra- mento but to their appropriate Region headquarters. 4.6 Every RACES Plan will have a concurrence/approval signatory page for the signatures and date of the following positions: 4.6.1 City RACES Plans: City Radio Officer City Communications Officer (if any) City OES Coordinator County Radio Officer State OES Region Radio Officer State OES Region Communications Coordinator State RACES Radio Officer or Coordinator Local administrative practices may require additional signatories but they are not required for the State OES copies. 4.6.2 County RACES Plans: County Radio Officer Communications Director (if applicable) OES Coordinator State OES Region Radio Officer State OES Region Communications Coordinator State RACES Radio Officer and Coordinator Local administrative practices may require additional signatories but they are not required for the State OES copies. 4.6.3 State OES Region RACES Plans: Region Radio Officer Region Communications Coordinator State Radio Officer State RACES Communications Coordinator Telecommunications Division Chief or Deputy Chief 4.6.4 State RACES Plan: Each Region Communications Coordinator State Radio Officer State RACES Coordinator Chief, Telecommunications Division 4.7 "Operational Area." Wherever the term "Operational Area(s)" appears, substitute the actual name of the jurisdiction wherever possible. The term "Operational Area" has little meaning for most readers outside of the Emergency Services organization; the jurisdiction name, on the other hand, is readily understood. 4.8 Packet frequencies. It is preferable not to include packet radio frequencies in your plan because they tend to be temporary and subject to one or more changes before another RACES plan or appendix is issued. Packet frequencies, more often than not, are determined at the time of the incident to best serve the particular mission. 5.0 ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS 5.1 APPLICATION. Applications to the RACES are made by Amateur radio operators to the city, county or State OES office of their choice. The application will include the form prescribed for registering State of California disaster service workers and the loyalty oath (Govt. Code sections 2015, 3102, 3211, 8589 and the California Emergency Council Rules & Regulations). Applicants will be registered in the "Communications" class of disaster service workers. A city, county, or the State may require the completion of other applicable forms. 5.2 "COMMUNICATIONS" CLASS. The California Emergency Council Rules & Regulations describes this class of disaster service worker (section C3) as: Communications. Operate and maintain various comm- unications systems, including wire and radio facilities, and perform messenger service, to assist officials and individuals in the protection of life and property. 5.3 LOCAL RECORD CHECK. All applicants for the RACES will be free of felony convictions and subject to background check verification. RACES personnel are different from the average Disaster Service Worker in that they have access to valuable government property; may serve in areas where access is restricted to personnel requiring law enforcement background clearances; frequently have access to restricted or confidential information and records; will handle messages of confidential content; and are highly visible to the public, where their deportment and actions must reflect favorably upon their office of authority at all times. 5.3.1 Authorization to Release Information. Each local government will prepare a form with this title and the following statement: "As an applicant for the position of Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service operator with (name of government), I am required to furnish information for use in determining my qualifications. In this connection, I authorize release of any and all in- formation that you may have concerning me, includ- ing information of a confidential or privileged nature. "I hereby release you, your organization, or others from liability or damage that may result from furnishing the information requested. This release will expire 60 days after the date signed. "Signed___________________________ "Date_____________________________" (Applications will not be processed without the applicant signing and dating the Authorization to Release Information. A sample Release Form is available from any State OES office.) 5.3.2 Upon receipt of a completed application for the RACES with the release form (above) and a copy of the applicant's Amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission, the local OES will request a record check by its law enforcement agency; city OES agencies will direct the request to their chief of police, counties to their sheriff, and State OES offices to State OES Headquarters. 5.4 IDENTIFICATION CARDS. Upon recommendation for acceptance by the proper law enforcement office (para. 5.3), the appropriate OES will issue the applicant an identification card or written RACES certification. (a) There are two levels of RACES participation. LEVEL 1 personnel are those who are regular volunteer staff of this RACES unit, they have accepted a job responsibility, and have agreed that the RACES is their primary Amateur Radio emergency response activity. It is recommended that LEVEL 1 staff volunteers be issued a government ID card the same as or similar to that used for its regular employees. State LEVEL 1 RACES personnel are issued a State OES identification card the same as or similar to that of employees and a laminated Registered Disaster Service Worker photo ID card. State OES does not issue permanent ID cards to its RACES personnel until after a minimum 180 days probation period. This practice is recommended to all local governments. (b) LEVEL 2 volunteers are those who choose not to serve as staff but may be available to work in some emergency. LEVEL 2 personnel are not issued a government identification card the same as or similar to that of employees. They may be issued a generic Registered Disaster Service Worker card. 5.4.1 It is recommended that the ID card be the same as that used by the agency or local government concerned, since that card is readily recognized by the jurisdiction involved. 5.4.2 It is recommended that the expiration date be three to five years hence, and that no identification card or certification be marked "indefinite". 5.4.3 Identification cards are the property of the government concerned. They will be surrendered to that government upon termination as a volunteer with its OES, for misuse of the ID card, misconduct or for cause. The volunteer should sign a statement to the affect that he/she understands the terms and responsibilities of being issued a government ID card and serving as a volunteer employee of that government. 5.4.4 It is recommended that an ID card consist of a full face (passport style) photograph and that all ID cards be laminated. Consider using the style with the cutout and clip for wearing on an outer garment while working in an EOC, communications center, or other controlled facility. 5.4.5 The State does not issue a general, statewide identifi- cation card nor does it contemplate one in the future. The control over individual ID cards is necessary to the successful employment of such cards. This is not practical with a generic, mass produced card. 5.5 Volunteers must sign on and off duty, and/or be recorded by an appropriate official of that government, whenever serving in any function such as drills, training, exercises, work parties or actual operations. Said record must contain the name, date and time on duty, and date and time off duty. Records will be retained by the appropriate office of emergency services for a period of not less than one (1) year. * * * * * Rev. 4 Level 1 and Level 2 volunteers defined in para. 5.4. Rev. 5 Paragraph 2.5 added April 15, 1992. Para. 4.7, "Operational Area(s), and para. 4.8, "Packet frequencies" added. Para. 3.6 clarified; i.e., one government may have only one RACES.