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As you sign up for ARES® BCAT Team, please consider the following:


What is the "Emergency Communications Commitment"?
The idea behind the statement "Amateur Radio is the hobby. Emergency Communication is a commitment." is that so many people will not spend the time to learn emergency communications and when urged to do so will reply with "It's just a hobby."

The hobby is Amateur Radio, and we expect people to treat the hobby portion as a hobby. The difference is that when you volunteer for ARES®, that it is a commitment. That means, if it is humanly possible, (NEVER do anything that would endanger your family and always consider the importance of your job) you will support Training and Emergencies. Does that mean or imply that any one person will support all of these activities? Not at all. It does mean that each person will support as many activities as their other commitments will allow. This will include checking in to the NET and training.  It is on this net that information about upcoming training meetings, events or exercises will be disseminated along with other topics. A good goal to set is to check into the nets and attend training meetings, exercises and call outs as much as possible.

Members will also be required to complete the following FEMA and Emergency Communications courses: FEMA IS-100 -- IS-700. along with the ARRL EC-001 Emergency Communications Course and EC-016. Additionally, it is highly encouraged to complete FEMA IS-200 and IS-800 for certification.  These courses can be self-paced and free.

We may have the communications equipment and years of operating on the Amateur bands, but is it easily applied to emergency communications? The equipment maybe - but you and me, no. One does not simply walk into an emergency situation unless you have some training and/or experience. We don't just sit down at a transceiver and control a host of other stations passing emergency messages or go mobile and know what to do or set up an emergency communications system that supports a specific area. And that is why the training program is so essential to the ARES® program.

Give this some thought: ARES® is spread thin, mighty thin, across the nation. You have the equipment and communications skills. They just have to be sharpened so that you can rapidly respond to an emergency situation. As a group we are making a commitment to, served agencies and First Responders to be a well-organized, well trained and well-equipped Emergency Communications response organization.

We can work together to make this happen.
Amateur Radio Emergency Service, ARES®, is a program of the American Radio Relay League, and that entity will abide by the Rules and Regulations of the ARRL's Field Organization, as they may be amended from time to time, and by American Radio Relay League, ARRL, policies, rules, and guidelines contained in ARRL publications.

I have read and agree to the Volunteer Commitment Letter

© 2026 Amateur Radio Emergency Services of Brevard, Inc. (BCAT) • N4TDX • A Florida 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. All Rights Reserved.
ARES®, Amateur Radio Emergency Service, and associated logos are registered marks of the American Radio Relay League, Incorporated, and are used by permission.