Mission Statement
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“Recruit, train and organize volunteer amateur radio operators to plan and deliver efficient and effective emergency communications to public Agencies, private Agencies and other stakeholders during major emergencies and disasters.” |
If there was a major emergency in the Edmonton area, would you be prepared to put your Amateur Radio skills to use, to help your community?
If the answer to this question is YES, then the best way to contribute is by joining the ‘ARES Edmonton Region’ Group, which is a part of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.
The ‘ARES Edmonton Region Group’ is dedicated to training its members to be proficient in all basic emergency radio skills.
To provide these basic emergency radio skills, the group considers that 5 core courses are necessary for basic proficiency. After teaching you about the ARES organization and the ’Incident Command System’, we will show you the best practices for emergency communications, message handling and basic net control.
Each course typically lasts 2 hours, so with just a modest commitment of time you can gain the basic communications skills needed for emergency operations. If you want to know more, special training courses aimed at teaching you all about emergencies are also available.
The group is run by an ’Emergency Coordinator’ supported by a ‘leadership group’ operating within the structure of the Radio Amateurs of Canada, which is the national society for radio amateurs in Canada. You don’t have to be a member of the RAC to join the ’ARES Edmonton Region’.
In times of emergency, key agencies around the city may call upon the group to provide backup or additional capacity communications. These Agencies include: The City of Edmonton through its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Emergency Management Alberta (EMA), Emergency Preparedness Canada (EPC), Capital Health, The Red Cross, the Salvation Army and others.
If you decide to join the group there is an easy to use on-line application form on the web site which can be accessed from the 'Membership' tab.
Are you prepared to help your community?