Introduction to ARES

The acronym ARES stands for the Amateur Radio Emergency Services. ARES
provides supplemental communications to public safety organizations
and other groups for special events, as well as disaster communications.

ARES can have several functions depending on a community's or area's needs.
ARES groups can provide checkpoint communications for events such as
parades and marathons, or run special event stations for special town
events such as festivals and large gatherings.

In times of disaster, ARES can provide communications in many situations.
For example, amateur radio operators can provide point to point
communications between shelters, assist in recovery efforts, provide
weather reports in weather disasters via the ARES SKYWARN program,
and send messages where normal communications have failed via
the National Traffic System.

ARES groups can be very small, tight-knit groups, to large groups
encompassing up to 100 or 200 ham operators. It depends on how 
large of an area and how active the ham operators are in a given area.

Here in Eastern Massachusetts, ARES is an up and coming program
headed by Section Emergency Coordinator Steve Schwarm-W3EVE. ARES is
undergoing some many structural changes and look for those changes
to be posted here on the Eastern Massachusetts ARES/RACES/SKYWARN
homepage.

For more information on ARES in Eastern Massachusetts please contact 
Steve Schwarm, the Section Emergency Coordinator for Eastern Massachusetts
at:
w3eve@amsat.org

or Rob Macedo, ARES SKYWARN Coordinator and New Bedford Area Emergency
Coordinator at:

rmacedo@ma.ultranet.com

73,Rob-KD1CY.
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for NWS Taunton
SEMCARES Emergency Coordinator