One of the purposes of amateur radio is to provide a cadre of trained communicators in times of disaster or emergency. ARCA members hone their skills through various training events that include SET’s, Drills and other formal training programs.
One of the lessons that 9/11 taught us was that interoperability of communications systems and coordinated command are absolutely essential to the disaster effort. In order to mitigate potential problems, Congress mandated training for emergency responders on the Incident Command System (ICS). This structure originated from the work necessary to fight large wildfires and has since proven to be successful throughout various types of events.
Required Courses
ARCA requires all Radio Operators to have completed the following courses before they can operate during an event.
IS-100.c– Introduction to Incident Command Systems
IS-200.c – ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
IS-700.b – National incident Management System (NIMS)
IS-800.c – National Response Framework