ARES Mutual Assistance Team (ARESMAT)

The ARESMAT concept recognizes that a neighboring section’s ARES resources can be quickly overwhelmed in a large incident. ARES members in the affected areas may be preoccupied with mitigation of their own personal situations and therefore not able to respond to local activations. Accordingly, emcomm support must come from ARES personnel outside the affected areas. ARESMAT teams are pre-prepared for dispatch to distant areas for service. CCAR maintains a roster of qualified members as a special ARESMAT team. Member qualifications are:

• Must be able to operate in a disaster relief operation under the most demanding and adverse conditions
• Must have the demonstrated ability to be an effective team player
• Must have strong interpersonal communications skills
• Must be respected and recognized by officials and peers as a competent communicator
• Must understand a broad range of disaster response organization’s capabilities and communication requirements
• Must be available with the prior consent of their employers to participate in operations
• Must be physically fit to perform arduous work under adverse environmental conditions
• Must be otherwise qualified with training, credentials, and equipment for a Level 1 or Level 2 RRT