Resource:

Amateur (or Auxiliary) Radio Communications Team (ARCT)

Category:

Communications

Kind:

Team

Minimum Capabilities:

Type I

Type II

Type III

Type IV

Other

Component

Metric

Team

Description

One Type II (base station)

Four Type III (mobile/portable)

Field/base station

Mobile/portable field units

Mobile/portable field additional support unit

Personnel

See Note 1

12 persons including

One supervisor

One assistant supervisor

4 (or more) AROs

2 AROs

1 ARO

Training

Class

See Note 2

2 must be General or higher

Technician or higher

At least 1 General or higher if available

Technician or higher

Equipment

Radios

VHF/UHF and HF

FM and SSB (voice)

CW and DIGITAL recommended

VHF FM

HF mobile/portable recommended

VHF FM

Vehicles

Number

Four

One or two

One or two

One

Supply

Not dependant upon any outside power source or infrastructure

Same as Type I

Same as Type II

Same as Type III

Comments:

The ARCT may be pre-existing unit, but more than likely will be assembled from existing registered emergency communication (EmComm) operators at the time a request is received or anticipated. EmComm leaders maintain and provide agency officials and/or ICS Logistics Officers and/or Communications Unit Leaders with a list of persons authorized to activate an ARCT.

Note 1: ARO is a licensed and registered Amateur Radio Operator.

Note2: ICS training is required for team leaders and strongly recommended for all team members.

Each team is designed to provide 24/7 coverage, and will be dispatched with its own supervisor(s), who will also serve as the liaison to the incident communications coordinator.

Type I: Full field station providing complete amateur radio emergency/auxiliary communications team for single or multiple agency communications for tactical, logistics, health/welfare, administrative, and other radio traffic.

Type II: Short range (VHF/UHF) and long range (HF) voice and digital communications for tactical, logistics, health/welfare, administrative, and other radio traffic. May be assigned to a specific agency, or for AUX/EMCOMM. at a staging area, CP, EOC, etc. for multiple agency service.

Type III: May be assigned to a specific agency or to supplement/relieve an existing multi-agency ARCT.

Type IV: Rarely (if ever) ordered singly. May be assigned to a specific agency or to supplement/relieve an existing ARCT.