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Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
The '''Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service''' (RACES) is a standby radio service provided for in Part 97.407 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations governing amateur radio in the United States.["Part 97: Amateur Radio Service". From American Radio Relay League web site. Retrieved Feb. 15, 2008.]
The concept of a standby "Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service" to replace the conventional "Amateur Radio Service" during wartime was developed in 1952 as result of input from the American Radio Relay League and the Department of the Army's Office of Civil Defense. During World War II, the Amateur Radio Service had been silenced and a new War emergency radio service|War Emergency Radio Service (WERS) had to be created from scratch in a process that took six months.
The resulting standby RACES service was designed to provide a quicker and smoother transition in the event the President ever needed to silence the regular Amateur Radio Service again when invoking the War Powers Act. Despite four wars involving the United States since 1952, this has never happened.
Activation
When so activated, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service will consist of only those amateur radio operators who have previously registered with State and local governments to provide emergency radio communications for them in times of emergency. Other amateur radio operations would be suspended and operations under the RACES rules might be restricted to certain radio frequency|frequencies within the amateur radio bands.
In addition to wartime communications, operations under the RACES rules can provide or supplement amateur radio emergency communications|communications during emergencies where normal communication systems have sustained damage. It may be used in a wide variety of situations, including natural disasters, technological disasters, nuclear accidents, nuclear attack, terrorism|terrorist incidents, and bomb threats.
Participation
In the past, actual RACES station licenses were also issued to civil defense organizations. To prevent abuse of station licenses by officials who weren't licensed amateur radio operators, limitations on the duration of non-emergency operation and stations that might be contacted were incorporated into part 97.407. Such RACES station licenses are no longer issued, and any operations under the RACES rules would now use licensed amateur radio operators as control operators.
In daily practice, most amateur radio operators enrolled with their local government for possible operations under the RACES rules are also members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, organized by the American Radio Relay League. ARES provides emergency communications in the conventional Amateur Radio Service without the need for an emergency declaration from the government.
See also
- Amateur Radio Emergency Service
- RAYNET in the United Kingdom.
- Military Affiliate Radio System
- SKYWARN
- Emergency management
References
External links
- Current State/Local Guidance from FEMA. RACES is mentioned in the plan (issued after the CPG 1-15 document)
- An interpretation of FEMA document CPG 1-15. This document is referenced by the SLG document from FEMA.
Category:Amateur radio emergency communications organizations
Category:Disaster preparedness in the United States
Category:Emergency communication
Category:Organizations established in 1952
Category:United States communications regulation
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Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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