ARES® Mission Statement

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®), a program of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio®, is comprised of organized, trained, and identified Amateur Radio operators who augment and support vital communications on behalf of the public through partner agencies and organizations during emergencies and disasters. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service, through its volunteer radio communicators, strives to be an effective partner in emergency and disaster response, providing the citizenry and public service partners at all levels with radio communications expertise, and capabilities of professional communicators.

Winchester/Frederick County ARES

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes; pursuant to Federal Communications Commission Rules Part 97, Subpart E.

The Winchester/Frederick County, herein referred to as WINFRED, leadership within ARES is exercised by the Emergency Coordinator (EC) who appoints Assistant Emergency Coordinators, as necessary, to assist in the administration and operation of ARES throughout the city and county. The ARES EC for WINFRED reports to the ARES District Two, District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) who, in turn, reports to the Virginia Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC).

Upon notification by either EOC or other appropriate Winchester/Frederick County official, the ARES EC will alert his ARES members, task organize his personnel and communications resources, and report immediately to the EOC or other location as directed. Upon reporting to the responsible official directing activation, the ARES Emergency Coordinator shall receive tasking from that official until termination of the emergency and ARES members will then assume the authorizations and responsibilities as defined under the FCC rules and regulations.

WINFRED ARES members are prepared to provide emergency backup radio communications, sustained by their own emergency backup power, from any location within Winchester/Frederick County to other local, state and national locations, should the emergency warrant. Emergency backup radio communications provided by WINFRED ARES members include equipment utilizing a wide variety of media and frequencies that are capable of passing voice and/or record traffic, to include data processing, in order to support the telecommunications requirements of the either EOC or other local officials.

It shall be the responsibility of the WINFRED ARES EC to ensure that personnel and communications resources assigned to his area remain fully prepared to support any of the functional operations phases delineated in either Winchester or Frederick County Emergency Operations Plans (EOP). He shall keep the EOCs fully advised of the state of readiness of ARES in Winchester/Frederick County.