After we developed the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) in California, and it came in use in other parts of the country, we were asked if the ACS was developed deliberately to "get around the FCC 1-hour rule?"
The answer was always no; that was not the motivation or purpose of creating the ACS. The motivation was based on our experiences during the Northridge Earthquake.
By then we had moved the RACES into an Auxiliary Radio Service (ARS) and were providing State level emergency operations mostly on Government frequencies and radios instead of on the Amateur frequencies. Besides the RACES we included personnel from Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and Military Affiliate Radio Service (MARS). We also had developed a skills matrix and identified those with backgrounds in administration, management and specialized skills.
During Northridge an amateur radio group took over the HF frequency on which we had a RACES net and wiped out the RACES net with "mother are you okay" messages. From that, we became concerned with the realistic viability of Amateur HF frequencies.
Another event was when I was asked if we had anyone who could program computers for the earthquake area. This occurred three times. Each time I brought in people with those special skills from a computer club and we quickly "filled the need".
A third event was when asked if we could assist an OES branch when staff was out with the flu. We supplied "office support staff" for two days and filled another emergency need.
Afterwards we discussed these factors and realized that we were needed across the entire field of COMMUNICATIONS rather than just radio. It seemed important to rename the program to reflect that aspect. We did so, with the ACS; then developed it to include all services of whatever nature needed, and with less emphasis on HF usage on the Amateur frequencies at the STATE level.
We then devised an ACS plan that provides that we can create a RACES sub-unit of one or more persons for operations on the Amateur Radio Service Frequencies in the RACES mode IF needed.
That is the way the AUXILIARY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE was born. While it may have led to our operation on the Amateur Service frequencies as the California Emergency Services Net, rather than as a RACES net, it was not in our thoughts in its creation.
The unit name can help or limit its perception by those from whom support IN government is needed. For instance, ACS signifies unit focus on COMMUNICATIONS which can be perceived as "all forms of communications". However, if local interpretations are such that "communications" is perceived as only from "Amateurs" that may be a major hurdle when it comes to funding. (Again, it all depends on local interpretations. Where that is a problem a solution could be an "Operations Support Unit" (OSU) if you want the unit to have a wider impact - resulting in better recognition and active involvement - with the local jurisdiction.)
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