Indiana Amateur Radio
Emergency Service

ARES District 1
Serving Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, and Newton Counties. 

Membership in Indiana Amateur Radio Emergency Service District 1 (ARES D1) is open to any person of good intent sharing a common vision of ARES goals, with an interest and the ability to assist ARES D1 in furtherance of its mission and goals.

 

Volunteers interested in, or possessing skill or expertise, and the capability to operate from fixed, mobile, remote (virtual) and/or portable (temporary) locations to successfully provide any of the following are welcomed as either members or affiliates of ARES D1:

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• Emergency, Supplemental/Auxiliary communications.

• Severe Weather Spotting and Reporting.

• Emergency, Disaster, Search and Rescue and Special Event Supplemental Incident Support:

  • Information and Intelligence Gathering and Resource Tracking.

  • Incident Planning (Search Areas; Emergency/Disaster Task Assignments; Communications; Incident Documentation – Resource Accountability and Incident/Communications Logs, Imagery, etc.).

  • Logistics Coordination (Supplies, Equipment, Personnel, Facility, Medical, Communications, Transportation, and Food Services).

  • Liaison (Between ARES D1 and cooperating organizations).

  • Leadership:

 

• Serving as the ARES D1 Unit Leader; Auxiliary Communications (AUXCOM), or Incident Support Group Supervisor, Unit Leader or other appropriate Incident Command System title and function as requested or approved by the Incident or Unified Commander, formally or tacitly in accordance with ARES D1 Standard Operating Procedures.

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• Leading a group/team of other ARES D1 and/or supporting personnel, or emergent volunteers (Good Samaritans) in conducting the ARES D1 mission and/or incident task assignments to allow more highly trained and better equipped emergency, disaster and search and rescue personnel to attend to other priority tasks.

 

ARES D1 is not a club and there are no dues to pay, but rather an organizational structure that exists to coordinate, train and retain like-minded people (“members” and “affiliates”) who volunteer and cooperate with each other to successfully complete the ARES D1 mission set.

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ARES D1 makes it simple to become and remain a member or affiliate. No huge demands, financially or timewise. It is a volunteer effort. 

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Although not a club in the legal/technical sense, ARES D1 offers many of the same benefits of belonging to a club. They include:

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• The sense of belonging and fellowship with one another.

• The ability to make new friends and maintain relationships with others.

• Conducting important and worthwhile tasks and work critical to the success of an emergency, disaster, search and rescue or special event (public service) incident.

• Being able to learn new things, keeping up with technology, keep the mind engaged, potentially delaying the onset of dementia or other mental impairment, experiment with new methods that have potential for contingency, emergency, or supplemental communications, or otherwise support the ARES D1 mission.

• Conducting public education about Emergency Communications and Amateur Radio.

• Passing on our experience and knowledge to others, including the younger generations.

• Supporting and conducting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs, demonstrations, and activities.

• Having an organizational structure to help guide and support you when or as you desire, and more.

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ARES D1 embraces the concepts of reasonable accommodation and the total inclusion of all people of legal age (or with parental/guardian consent), who are able to perform the duties required to meet its mission from a fixed, mobile, remote (virtual) or portable (field) location.  

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​ARES D1 does not discriminate based on citizenship, national origin, race, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status or political affiliation, any other protected class or factor stipulated by law.

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​Belonging to ARES D1 comes in one of the two categories:

 

Member - Membership in ARES D1 is open to anyone of good repute, with a Ham radio (Portable VHF-FM radio at a minimum) and an FCC License (Technician Class and above) and a genuine interest and ability in helping ARES D1 meet its mission.

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Affiliate – Affiliate “membership” in ARES D1 is open to anyone of good repute, with a GMRS radio (Portable UHF-FM GMRS radio at a minimum) and GMRS FCC License and a genuine interest and ability in helping ARES D1 meet its mission.

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Note - The American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the organizational sponsor of the ARES program nationwide requires ARES members to be FCC licensed Amateur (Ham) Radio Operators (Technician Class or above). 

 

Recognizing the value and interest in serving the public, as well as the interoperability capability they provide, ARES D1 fully embraces and welcomes non-Hams interested in providing Incident Support and/or Emergency/Supplemental Communications or Severe Weather Reporting and expands its "membership" definition a bit beyond that of the ARRL. Likewise, ARES D1 expands its mission beyond communications and into Incident Support roles and things in between the two extremes. ARES D1 is an Incident Support Team!

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To ensure their ability to communicate when normal means of communications are overloaded, unreliable or non-existent, ARES D1 requires non-Ham volunteers to at least posses a GMRS portable two-way radio and the appropriate (no test required) FCC GMRS license.  

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To leverage even more capabilities that exist, Affiliate “members” are highly encouraged to obtain an FCC Technician Class or above FCC License. Training, mentoring, support and testing opportunities are available from ARES D1 members and other resources upon request.  

 

There is no annual cost to be an ARES D1 member.

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ARES D1 members and affiliates provide whatever skills they may have (e.g., Information Technology, Planning, Emergency Medical, Leadership, Administration, etc.). They also receive “on-the-job” training and experience helping to setup, operate and take down fixed, mobile and portable communications stations (as applicable), while enjoying the fellowship and contributing to ARES D1’s mission. They are highly encouraged to participate whenever possible.  

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Volunteering with ARES D1, taking advantage of its training, experience, personal networking, and leadership opportunities, can lead to employment opportunities. Many ARES members nationwide, and some ARES D1 volunteers have in fact, expanded their volunteer work, training, experience, personal networking, and leadership to add paid career positions in Emergency Communications, Emergency Management, Information Technology, and other career fields.