Why does this occur? Why do some agencies say "No" to communications volunteers and refuse to call them out? Why does an auxiliary communications unit by whatever title --- ECS (Emergency Communications Service), DCS (Disaster Communications Service), ARES or RACES --- wither and die for lack of agency support or inclusion in its on-going activities?
One real possibility is that the agency administrator may need help in working with a group of people he/she is not accustomed to having around. Not that he/she isn't a professional in their own field, but that the person has little experience working with unpaid professionals with an abiding interest in emergency communications. Perhaps the key response here is one of inter-personal relationships, chiefly between the agency people and the Radio Officer. With the right personality and skill, the Radio Officer CAN establish the liaison and relationship.
One real possibility is that the agency administrator may need help in working with a group of people he/she is not accustomed to having around. Not that he/she isn't a professional in their own field, but that the person has little experience working with unpaid professionals with an abiding interest in emergency communications. Perhaps the key response here is one of inter-personal relationships, chiefly between the agency people and the Radio Officer. With the right personality and skill, the Radio Officer CAN establish the liaison and relationship.
Another possibility is that the Amateurs take the situation for granted without realization. Yet another is that the volunteers don't comprehend the agency needs and relationships. When did they last show a willingness to help the agency in its DAY-TO-DAY affairs? [so as to better understand the agency]
How have you utilized the RACES bulletins? They are addressed to agency administrators, via the Amateur Radio Service, to be DELIVERED IN PERSON by an interested Amateur to the agency administrator, even if there is no unit, or a "paper" unit. Such on-going contact BEGINS the process of familiarization and rapport. Where a unit exists, it is the Radio Officer that is responsible for the situation. If he/she isn't an INTEGRAL part of the agency, get another one!
The Radio Officer won't learn much about your agency, or become an integral part of your staff, by simply delivering a bulletin weekly. That's just the door opener. It takes time to learn the nuances of personalities, the quirks of procedures, and the unwritten aspects that affect the agency.
The short weekly drop-in also doesn't help the agency administrator to become familiar with the unit; nor the necessity and importance of including the RACES participants in ALL disaster or emergency preparedness activities of the agency. Such a casual attitude and interest between the Radio Officer and the agency can easily leave the Amateurs with no real "meaning" or "significance" to the agency (other than a possible doomsday resource).
It takes effort and time to become such an integral part of the staff that the Radio Officer is a part of them, paid or not. I did it by volunteering to do whatever my executive, management and administrative experience could handle. I read files, studied plans, correspondence and tackled anything that looked interesting. I did not restrict it to "operating the radio" like some might. I studied the system, the people, the organization, the structure - anything that made the situation what it is. I asked, "Would it help if I did....?" I reviewed and updated plans, procedures and anything else that needed work. In that way I demonstrated interest, ability and reliability. That builds a relationship that will NEVER be constructed by a group that simply gets a Memorandum of Understanding and sits back and waits to be called.
Oh, someday, if the situation gets really bad enough the unit whose key staff is not an integral part of the agency, whether RACES or otherwise, may get a call-out ....but they really shouldn't bank on it! The nutshell answer is this: If your unit is not the way it should be, get a new Radio Officer who can lead the way and open the channels with the agency in a meaningful way that fits the local situation.
/Sgd/ Cary R. Mangum, Chief State Radio Officer, W6WWW
How have you utilized the RACES bulletins? They are addressed to agency administrators, via the Amateur Radio Service, to be DELIVERED IN PERSON by an interested Amateur to the agency administrator, even if there is no unit, or a "paper" unit. Such on-going contact BEGINS the process of familiarization and rapport. Where a unit exists, it is the Radio Officer that is responsible for the situation. If he/she isn't an INTEGRAL part of the agency, get another one!
The Radio Officer won't learn much about your agency, or become an integral part of your staff, by simply delivering a bulletin weekly. That's just the door opener. It takes time to learn the nuances of personalities, the quirks of procedures, and the unwritten aspects that affect the agency.
The short weekly drop-in also doesn't help the agency administrator to become familiar with the unit; nor the necessity and importance of including the RACES participants in ALL disaster or emergency preparedness activities of the agency. Such a casual attitude and interest between the Radio Officer and the agency can easily leave the Amateurs with no real "meaning" or "significance" to the agency (other than a possible doomsday resource).
It takes effort and time to become such an integral part of the staff that the Radio Officer is a part of them, paid or not. I did it by volunteering to do whatever my executive, management and administrative experience could handle. I read files, studied plans, correspondence and tackled anything that looked interesting. I did not restrict it to "operating the radio" like some might. I studied the system, the people, the organization, the structure - anything that made the situation what it is. I asked, "Would it help if I did....?" I reviewed and updated plans, procedures and anything else that needed work. In that way I demonstrated interest, ability and reliability. That builds a relationship that will NEVER be constructed by a group that simply gets a Memorandum of Understanding and sits back and waits to be called.
Oh, someday, if the situation gets really bad enough the unit whose key staff is not an integral part of the agency, whether RACES or otherwise, may get a call-out ....but they really shouldn't bank on it! The nutshell answer is this: If your unit is not the way it should be, get a new Radio Officer who can lead the way and open the channels with the agency in a meaningful way that fits the local situation.
/Sgd/ Cary R. Mangum, Chief State Radio Officer, W6WWW
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