ARES vs AUXCOMM

To understand the distinction between AUXCOMM and ARES, consider the following:

• AUXCOMM is a public SAFETY function, a separate organization from ARES, which is a public SERVICE function.
• AUXCOMM activates when given tasking and mission orders issued by an AHJ
• AUXCOMM focuses on emergency communications and provides training and support to the Incident Command System and NCEM.
• ARES, on the other hand, involves amateur radio operators who voluntarily provide their skills and equipment to local communities assisting Red Cross at shelters or community events which are typically not ermergency operations.

Trained amateur radio operators serving in AUXCOMM are often also members of a local Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) organizations but the AUXCOMM personnel have chosen to obtain additional training and certification that permit them to support Emergency Management (NCEM.  Once activated, Auxcomm personnel may be assigned to the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), a Regional Coordinating Center, or be placed in field deployments while operating under the authority of an Agency Having Juridiction (AHJ) as part of the State Emergency Response Team.

In the case of Henderson County, amateur radio personnel may be operating under the (AHJ) or as a community resource, depending upon the type activity they are participating in as well as who has requested amateur radio to assist.  The two types of operations have distinct legal authorities and organizational structures.  AUXCOMM typically focuses on a state mission, while ARES concentrates on a local assignment and may not have written procedures or a defined organization.  Personnel operating under either type assignment do share a common goal of providing communications assistance that supports community needs.

On May 11, 2005, Governor Michael Easley proclaimed the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the standard for emergency agencies in North Carolina. In 2010, North Carolina Emergency Management informed amateur radio ARES leadership that NC ARES® would either comply with ICS standards or be removed as a state recognized asset in the North Carolina Emergency Operations Plan (NCEOP). Despite national ARRL HQ staff insisting that ARES® would not operate under ICS and would not mandate ICS training for ARES personnel., NC ARES® leadership decided to embrace the ICS training requirement and remain a partner with NCEM.

Since the Governor’s Proclamation in 2005, tens of thousands of North Carolina emergency responders have completed and documented training in the Incident Management System (ICS). Moreover, over 900 North Carolina amateur radio operators have also completed and provided to NCEM documentation of completion of the same ICS courses taken by fire, police, and EMS personnel.  North Carolina Emergency Management has integrated AUXCOMM into its communications plans and activates it during each state-level standup of the State Emergency Response Team. AUXCOMM is seamlessly integrated into Emergency Support Function 2 (ESF2), alongside other communications professionals such as VIPER, law enforcement, EMS, 911, cell, and wireline companies, and broadband providers.

Groups that fail to embrace ICS training are unlikely to be activated during a declared disaster. Local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteers without ICS training are typically limited to non-emergency roles.