QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/files/races/mgtorg1c.txt

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 17KB | 305 lines

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MGTOrg1C Version 1. 3   3/1/92



Subject: ORGANIZATION 1C.                   [Category: MGT]

RACES PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS
This is the first is a series of messages specifically for
OES/emergency management agencies. They are the outcome of the
most commonly identified problems between volunteers and some
emergency management agencies at the recent Emergency Response
Institute in San Jose. The use of Amateur Radio operators in a
structured program by local governments is called RACES---Radio
Amateur Civil Emergency Service. Every county in California
should have a RACES unit. Legislative hearings in 1983 took the
State to task for letting RACES disappear in most areas in
California and directed the State OES to bring the RACES back on
line and take its place with other local government volunteer
programs such as those for reserve deputy sheriffs, reserve
police officers, volunteer firefighters, etc. RACES is a part of
your government. It is not a separate, detached or outside
organization. RACES volunteers are your government's deputy
communications personnel, your reserve of Amateur Radio
operators. They comprise a pool of skilled communicators with
reliable and sophisticated radio systems at no cost to the
government. They are entitled to the privilege of being enrolled
in RACES in every county or community in California.

RACES Radio Officers are appointed by the State, county and city
emergency management agencies they serve. They are a part of the
agency staff and expected to be treated as such. The Radio
Officer should be provided a job description, provided the
organization practices and policies, learn the relationships to
other agencies, attend staff meetings, may be sent to training
sessions/seminars, provided space to work and resources to carry
out the management of a program that would otherwise be staffed
by a paid posi_tion in past years. In short, the Radio Officer
should be made to feel a part of your staff as would a paid
employee. We, in turn, expect the same interest, professionalism
and dedication from any RACES Radio Officer.
We can appreciate that it may be difficult for emergency services
managers to accept this if you have never had an unpaid volunteer
on your staff.

We can appreciate that it may be difficult for emergency services
managers to accept this who have never had an unpaid volunteer on
your staff. It can also be difficult to grasp the RACES program
where it has been dead in many areas for up to 20 years. The
State legislature has mandated that this oversight be corrected.
This, coupled with re_duced budgets, makes the use of skilled
volunteers in law enforcement, fire suppres_sion, search and
rescue, and communications sound and practical.
Amateur Radio operators are a valuable resource of skills and
in-place communications systems and equipment at no cost to
government. Their availability and usage is called the RACES
program. In short, they are assigned directly to you or to
whomever you have delegated the emergency communications
function.

RACES is managed by you or by the department to whom you have
delegated the emer_gency communications function. The RACES Radio
Officer is not a paper assignment just to place a name in a plan
or a doomsday roster and then forget about it. We have,
unfortunately, received reports of some jurisdictions where this
seems to be the case.
Consider these questions. Are you faced with any of these
problems?
1. The OES agency does not understand the RACES program, lacks
information, is mis_informed by outsiders, and/or is unaware that
every county and State OES Region should have an active RACES
unit. There are many city RACES units as well but, for good
management reasons, we do not generally advocate new RACES units
in cities of under 500,000 population. A particularly troublesome
emergency management problem ex_ists if there are city RACES
units in a county that has no bona fide county RACES pro_gram.
Our office will he pleased to work with you to successfully
overcome any of these shortcomings. Simply call us at
[phone].
2. The RACES officer is not adequately fulfilling the
expectations of the position. Have you provided a written job
description? This office will provide model Radio Officer and
Communicator job descriptions for the asking.
3. The RACES Radio Officer is not the right manager for the job.
Can you rectify this problem through closer supervision,
assistance from our office, or by replacing the individual?
4. Failure to integrate and maintain close and harmonious
relations with ARES--the Amateur Radio Emergency Service
sponsored by the American Radio Relay League. All ARES members
should be enrolled in RACES, but the individual's preferences
should be respected by categorizing each RACES member as 1st
level response, 2nd level, and so forth. This is the job of the
Radio Officer and his/her staff.
5. Failure to permit the RACES personnel to be used as frequently
as possible in exer_cises, special events for training purposes,
and real emergencies. Volunteers will not perform, and cannot be
expected to perform, in the manner you expect if they are not
either trained or used on a regular basis.
6. Radio Officer failing to stop by the office at least once or
twice a month as a bare minimum. Failure to do so can excuse the
OES agency from observing step number 7. Failure to do so will
also doom your RACES unit and program to failure.
7. OES agency's failure to remember that the Radio Officer is a
regular member of the staff and should, for example, receive
distribution of all staff memos, pertinent cor_respondence,
appropriate clerical support, and appropriate work space. The
Radio Officer (or an assistant) is to be invited to staff
meetings, conferences, appropriate in-government training, and
other employee functions. The Radio Officer should have an "in"
basket at the office. A well informed volunteer feels the pride
of belonging and should serve with the same professionalism as
paid staff.
This office will meet with you and your RACES Radio Officer to
discuss these and other subjects to create, improve, or maintain
a proper RACES program. We await your in_vitation. RB87-12 to17

WHY SOME GOVERNMENTS WON'T USE VOLUNTEERS
Here are some recent questions and answers at a multistate
ARES/RACES conference:
Q: "Our county government won't even talk to us. How can we make
them setup a RACES program?"
A: This is always a sticky issue with no single or simple answer.
Here are some answers I have picked up around the country:
1. Too often a ham group has approached a local government, "Here
is what WE are going to do for YOU." They may also infer that it
will be done on their terms. They don't ask, "What can we
volunteers do for you?" This is a sure way to turn a government
off to volunteers. (Of course it helps to have done some local
government homework so that you can have some professional
suggestions based on local conditions -- not generalities based
on distant suggestions or fill-in-the-blanks agreements.)
2. Headstrong or inflexible volunteer leadership may feel their
perceived authority threatened if they feel they must answer to
and be responsive to a higher local author_ity. This can preclude
the coming together between the volunteers and the government in
the first place. Or it can kill a new, trial program early on.
The "us and them" syndrome has split apart more governments from
their volunteers than anything else.
3. Government leadership is just as often at fault in this regard
by saying, if effect, "I don't have time to fool around with the
volunteers (or, I don't know how) and I don't want a volunteer on
my staff. If I need those hams I just call in such- and-such
group." Do you do that regularly? "No, because they don't know
how we do things around here." Do you give them any training?
"No, don't have time." Lip service.
4. A government official may say, in effect, that "We just spent
2 million dollars for a brand new professional two-way radio
system with all the bells and whistles. What do we need you
amateurs for?" Regrettably, that official is unaware that in a
major emergency there will NEVER be enough radio communication
circuits to support their needs for an unknown period of time.
5. A disaster management official had a run in with a tipsy ham
volunteer. Ergo, all hams must be tipsy and obstreperous, right?
Even though that official changed gov_ernments, the official has
resisted all efforts to be provided Amateur management personnel
that are above reproach. In cases like this where ANY Amateur
Radio service program within the government is rejected, the
alternatives are limited:
a. Bring political pressure to bear from supportive higher
authority within the same government. This has its obvious after
action pitfalls -- unless you can find another department within
the same government that wants and is willing to administer a
RACES type program for the unwilling civil defense director. This
is perfectly legal (FCC) since the CD director will or has
delegated this CD function to one of the line depart_ments. The
CD director (or by whatever local title) may not be aware that he
or she can do this. The official may be tickled to delegate the
"unknown world of Amateur Radio" to another official! This has
worked successfully in hundreds of jurisdictions.
b. Do nothing other than to wait for the responsible official to
retire, be promoted, be transferred or be otherwise replaced.
6. "If I have to use Amateurs it will make me look bad."
7. "I don't have the time." Either the role of the trusted
volunteer called a Radio Officer hasn't been accepted or, if it
has, the concept is re_jected. Try the suggestion to delegate the
ham radio communications program to another department; see 5a
above.
Q: "Can't the state bring pressure to bear to make this county
have a RACES program?"
A: No, not in most states. In our state the State can provide
guidance and recommenda_tions but it cannot tell the counties
what to do. Nor can we invite ourselves in to make suggestions.
The county governments can invite the State to attend
informational meetings with them and the hams or present a one
day RACES seminar. The local hams often make this possible by
persuading the county CD agency to conduct such an in_formation
meeting or seminar. Salesmanship is the operative word. No local
govern_ment HAS to have an Amateur Radio program; we simply show
them why it is to their distinct advantage to have one.  RB137 &
138

BILL OF RIGHTS FOR VOLUNTEERS
1.   To be treated as a co-worker
2.   To a suitable assignment
3.   To know as much as possible about policy, people and
programs.
4.   To participate in activities.
5.   To quality training
6.   To sound guidance and direction
7.   To proper working conditions
8.   To promotion and a variety of experiences.
9.   To be heard; to have a part in the planning
10.  The right to recognition, through promotion and rewrd
11.  Day-to-day expression of appreciation by professionals.
Author unknown. It is good guidance for all. RB86-26

HOW DOES ONE JOIN THE RACES?
QUESTION: How do I join a RACES unit?
ANSWER: Contact your nearest civil defense or emergency
management agency. The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service is a
part of a municipal, county, or state government. This does not
mean, however, that every such government has a RACES program. If
your government does not have a RACES, we hope you refer any
interested caller to the nearest jurisdiction that does have a
RACES. RB162
VOLUNTEERS DEFINED
It has become increasingly apparent that there are or should be
two levels of RACES operators. A paper is now being written on
the subject of various levels of emergency management agency
volunteers. It will go into considerable detail because the word
"volunteer" means different things to different people.
Because some jurisdictions are having growing pains and
administrative problems, it is appropriate to disseminate
guidance in advance of the proposal now being studied. The
proposal is to provide all volunteer Disaster Service Workers
with a receipt of such registration.
There are two levels of RACES operators in California. (The RACES
section in any local government provides emergency communications
support via Amateur radio in accor_dance with a written plan.)
LEVEL 1 (or A) volunteers are key staff with on-going RACES
duties for, and responsibilities with, the State or a local
government in California. It is recommended that a local
government photo ID card be issued this category of volunteer. A
Level 1 volunteer chooses and agrees to respond to his/her agency
when called upon with a priority over all other volunteer
activities. For RACES, the State OES form 99 DISASTER SERVICE
WORKER REGISTRATION AND LOYALTY OATH (or equivalent local
government form) is required plus a local record check is
required by most jurisdictions.
A LEVEL 2 (or B) volunteer may be all other Amateur Radio
operators choosing not to be a Level 1 volunteer. This group
should, ideally, include every Amateur in a county that is not a
Level 1. Only the OES 99 (or local equivalent) is required. No
local government ID card need be issued. Level 2 RACES personnel
have no duties, on-going assignments or responsibilities, and are
not required to attend meetings or training. The purpose and
intent is to register all Amateur Radio operators as Disaster
Service Workers so that their services may be utilized by
governments unprepared to register volunteers at or during a
disaster or emergency. It is a State RACES policy not to use
unregistered vol_unteers. RB013 (duplicated elsewhere also.)

LEVELS OF VOLUNTEER RESPONDER ACTIVITY
Here are some tips we'd like to pass along for dedicated and well
organized public ser_vice volunteers. They are the people who
accept the basic premise that, "Barring any higher personal
priority, I will respond each time I am called out. I do this
because this is what I really like to do."
Volunteers in this "Level 1 or A" category are typically those in
search and rescue, fire fighters, law enforcement reserves, the
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service and certain other civil
defense volunteers. Such volunteer groups are first line
responders with a highly developed callout system. Their parent
agency radio pages, telephones or otherwise signals the
volunteers on each and every callout. This may happen from once
to several times a month.
The majority of volunteers, however, don't get called out
anywhere near that often. Their chance to serve may be only once
or a few times a year. This doesn't mean to say that their level
of skills required is any less than the more frequent responders;
it's just that the need for their services may be far less.
Amateur Radio operators are usually in this category, whether
they are in the RACES, ARES, or by whatever name.
Let's call the volunteer head of this group the OIC or
officer-in-charge. It behooves an OIC or his/her designee to be
tuned in closely to the community emergency services, to be aware
of what is going on most of the time, so that the OIC will know
of any incident or threat that could use the services of their
Amateur Radio operators -- ei_ther "for real" or simply as a
training vehicle.
It really can't be said often enough to volunteer groups: "More
often than not, you have to request to be requested." This goes
hand in hand with: "Out of sight is out of mind." Government
agencies don't see their "deputy communicators" day in and day
out. More often than not they don't really understand what it is
you do, why frequent usage or training of the volunteers is
important, or why the Amateur Radio emergency resource itself is
important.
The OIC (or designees) monitors what is going on and what is
scheduled in the future, actively looking for opportunities to
serve. When the OIC identifies such an opportu_nity, he goes to
his supervisor in the parent agency and requests permission for
the unit to participate.
I have served on both sides of the fence over the years. As an
OIC I have requested permission to respond to the incident or to
participate in a support or training role. Quite often it
required a selling job to educate the authorizing authority the
benefits to be derived by both the participants and the
sponsoring agency. As an authorizing au_thority I have to weigh
the benefits, the expected results, and the hazards. As a rule I
look for every reason to say "yes" and not an automatic turndown.
How does it work in your community, with your organization and
your agencies? RB096 and 097