Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is a volunteer emergency communications service authorized by the Wayne Office of Emergency Management. It is run by persons appointed by Wayne Township.
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is the emergency communications service provided by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It is part of the Field Organization and run by persons appointed by the Section Manager.
ARES is activated before, during, and after an emergency. Generally, ARES handles all emergency messages, including those between government emergency management officials. RACES, on the other hand, almost never starts before an emergency and is active only during the emergency and during the immediate aftermath if government emergency management offices need communications support. RACES is normally shut down shortly after the emergency has cleared. ARES can drill as much as they want and talk to all ham stations. RACES may only drill one hour per week and only may communicate with other RACES stations during a drill or an actual emergency.
Any amateur Radio operator can join ARES, as they don’t need to be approved by the civil defense organization. We always promote that ARES members join the RACES group whenever they can so in case of a real emergency, they can contact other RACES stations without restrictions. We also promote that RACES members join an ARES group, so they can have as much training and drills as they wish.
Website: WRAET