Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)

ARES is an emergency communications group sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) since 1935. At the local level, each county is assigned an "Emergency Coordinator".

ARES has Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with a variety of agencies at the national level, such as FEMA, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the National Weather Service.

The Emergency Coordinator for Crook County is Dave Freitag, W7KFO; the Emergency Coordinator for Jefferson County is Kermit Kumle, WT7K.

Please visit the ARRL ARES web page to learn more.

Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)

Created by the federal government after World War II, RACES addressed the need for Amateur Radio operators to function as an integral part of state, county, or local "Civil Defense" agencies in time of national emergency or war.

Today, "Civil Defense" is known as "Emergency Management" in most states, and RACES operators support local served agencies such as the Crook County and Jefferson County Sheriff. In Oregon, the Sheriff's Department is responsible for Emergency Management.

Please visit the ARRL RACES web page to learn more.

Membership Guidelines

ARES and RACES are both volunteer organizations, but serve different agencies. Leaders suggest that Amateur Radio operators join BOTH organizations for the greatest flexibility.

Please note that ARES registrants must register with the Emergency Coordinator serving their county of residence, and RACES applicants must apply to the Sheriff (or his representative) serving their county of residence.

Application/Registration Forms

ARES Registration

Please send completed Crook County ARES registration forms to Dave Freitag at 1082 NE Stoneridge Loop, Prineville, OR, 97754. Please send completed Jefferson County ARES registration forms to Kermit Kumle at 1357 Koyoda St., Madras, OR, 97741.

Crook County RACES Application

Please send completed Crook County RACES Applications to Dave Freitag at 1082 NE Stoneridge Loop, Prineville, OR, 97754 - or to Crook County Sheriff, Attn: Commander Brandon Smith, 308 NE 2nd St., Prineville, OR, 97754

Jefferson County RACES Application

Please send completed Jefferson County RACES Applications to Jefferson County Sheriff, Attn: Mike Folkestad, 675 NW Cherry Lane, Madras, OR, 97741

Break Tags

When net communication gets heavy, someone may have a quick solution to a problem that is taking up too much valuable airtime for discussion, but can't break into the net to share it. Break Tags deal with such a scenario.