Essex County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a local group of licensed Amateur Radio operators who volunteer their communications skills in support of government and non-governmental partners before, during, and after emergencies. We train year-round and can establish reliable voice and data radio links when regular systems are overloaded, disrupted, or otherwise unavailable. We also provide reliable communications and an extra layer of safety at community events.
Prepared volunteers, established procedures, and radio systems that can operate independently of conventional communications infrastructure.
ARES is a program of ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio®. Our volunteers support government agencies (local, county, state, tribal, federal) and non-governmental organizations such as relief/humanitarian groups. We prepare in advance through planning, training, exercises, and regular nets so we’re ready when asked to assist.
ARES works within the Incident Command System (ICS) when used by the requesting organization and follows that organization’s procedures. When assigned within an ICS structure, ARES personnel work through the incident’s established chain of command, while ARES leadership coordinates personnel, capabilities, and program responsibilities with the requesting organization. We can interface with the National Traffic System (NTS) and use radio-email, such as Winlink, when appropriate to deliver and track partner messages.
Flexible communications support for fixed facilities, field operations, planned events, and outages.
Multi-band voice and data using VHF/UHF/HF; repeaters and accepted simplex channels; portable and fixed stations; point-to-point and net operations.
Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), shelters and reception centers, public health clinics, hospitals, mobile command posts, communications support for damage-assessment teams, and public service events.
| Scenario | Objective | ARES role |
|---|---|---|
| Communication outages or overload | Preserve life-safety and situational awareness | Establish radio nets; relay partner messages using forms such as ICS-213; maintain activity and communications logs as required; staff EOCs |
| Severe weather & flooding | Augment field reports and resource tracking | Provide field teams and control stations; relay requests; radio-email as needed |
| Shelter operations | Support logistics and welfare messaging | Set up local links and liaison to county/state nets |
| Public service events | Support event safety, coordination, and situational awareness | Staff assigned positions; relay safety and operational traffic; support event coordination; participate in after-action review |
ARES integrates with the requesting organization’s incident structure and operating procedures.
Licensed Amateur Radio operators can participate, build experience, and advance through additional training and qualification levels.
Any FCC-licensed Amateur Radio operator with an interest in public service is eligible to participate in ARES. ARRL membership is not required to join; training and qualification requirements apply for higher participation levels and certain leadership roles.
Groups.io page: nenj-ares-emcomm.groups.io/g/main
Leadership training: Designated ARES leadership positions have additional ARRL training requirements, including the ARES Leadership course.
ARES also cooperates with CERT/VOAD and can coordinate with NTS for traffic handling; groups may use radio-email (e.g., Winlink) when appropriate.
Essex County includes 22 municipalities, with Newark as the county seat. ARES support can be tailored for municipal EOCs, public safety, public health, and NGOs across the county.
Essex County Emergency Coordinator – Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
RACES Coordinator – Essex County Office of Emergency Management
Email: [email protected]
