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In today’s ARES® organization individual training and certification has become increasingly important in order for amateur operators to be able to verify their skills and abilities. This need increases daily as local emergency management organizations, hospitals, and other served agencies strive to meet the training and training verification requirements imposed upon them as a result of the post Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 Disasters.

The U.S. Federal government has adopted a new disaster response plan.  This plan calls for all disaster responders at all levels to have basic knowledge and understanding of the disaster management and their role in the process.  All states and local governments are required to adopt the basic principles of the National Incedent Management System (NIMS) and ensure that their responders, both professional and volunteer are trained in these in these basics.

 In order to assist you, as an ARES responder, to meet these basic training needs, we have included links below to both free Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) online courses and the ARRL online Emergency Communications Courses.  We have included other optional courses that would be of benefit to you in responding to an emergency or disaster situation.  Be sure to remember to provide a copy of your course certificates to the the ARES county Emergency Coordinator. 

 ARRL Emergency Communications Course Credit can be obtained by either of these methods:

    • Take the online course and exam
    • Take a classroom course and classroom exam given by an ARRL Certification Examiner Team 
    • Take a classroom course and online exam (Hybrid Course)
    • Self-study and a paper written exam by an ARRL Certification Examiner Team.
      

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Requirements for Course Completion: The new course requires that the student has previously completed the Level 1/Basic course, certain FEMA courses and has some experience with Amateur Radio and emergency communications. Those who desire to receive a course completion certificate for this new course (which we refer to in shorthand as “Advanced EmComm”) will first need to document that they have satisfied a list of prerequisites. After providing the necessary documentation, applicants will be required to pay an enrollment fee of $35 to gain access to the course’s final exam. This fee will help to offset the cost of developing the course and for the online testing service as well as costs for administrative support.

The course prerequisites to be verified include:
  • An Amateur Radio license,
  • Completion of ARRL’s Level 1/Basic course, and
  • Completion of FEMA courses that are background for this course.


FEMA prerequisites:
  • ICS-100 (basic ICS)
  • ICS-200 (supervisory)
  • ICS (NIMS)-700
  • ICS-300, a classroom course, is also highly recommended, but not required
Candidates for the course completion certificate will also be required to document completion of additional FEMA courses that are integrated into the Advanced EmComm course curriculum. These include:
  • IS-800 (National Response Framework)
  • FEMA IS-240, Leadership & Influence
  • FEMA IS-241, Decision Making & Problem Solving
  • FEMA IS-250, Emergency Support Function 15 (ESF15), External Affairs
  • FEMA IS-1, Emergency Manager, An Orientation to the Position
  • IS-288, The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management
  • IS-244, Developing and Managing Volunteers
  • FEMA IS-120.a, An Introduction to Exercises
  • FEMA IS-130, Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning
  • FEMA IS-139, Exercise Design
Please note: the list of FEMA course as prerequisites, as well as those referenced internally within the course, may change as FEMA makes changes to its course offerings or the course is modified to introduce new content. Applicants will also need to supply a reference from their Section Manager, or his or her designee, stating the reason for the applicant’s participation. Section Managers will take into account the applicant’s relevant experience or role within emergency communications and whether they are in good standing within the amateur radio community. Once applicants have documented that these requirements have been met and they have paid the course evaluation fee, they will receive access to complete the online exam. We are also making provision for unlicensed individuals who perform an official role as an emergency responder to earn the course completion certificate if they desire. To apply to take the final exam and earn the course completion certificate, these individuals will need to obtain a “waiver” recommendation from the local ARRL Section Manager. This waiver request should include a description of the position of responsibility the applicant holds in an emergency response organization. Note that these individuals will need to be an ARRL member to obtain access to the course on the ARRL website. Later on, when other media formats are available there may be additional ways to access the course materials.
      

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Find a Classroom Course or Certification Exam on the ARRL C-CE Activity List  

      

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