E. Prep. merit badge requires the Scout to take part in an emergency mobilization and make a plan for emergency service. Why not let your local amateur radio ARES/RACES group help out?

Amateur radio operators work with their local communities to prepare for emergencies. They do this with drills, frequent radio practice, and public service (which is also mobilization practice). Many groups have a radio communications net every week. Scouts can also work with CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and other emergency volunteers.

Let’s look at the three parts of requirement 8 for the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.

8a. Prepare a written plan for mobilizing your troop when needed to do emergency service. If there is already a plan, explain it. Tell your part in making it work.

What kind of emergencies can happen in your town and how can Scouts help? The Palo Alto emergency volunteers just had training to supervise sandbag stations in preparation for potential flooding from the El Niño rains. Some of our residents are older and probably should not be shoveling sand and loading sandbags into cars. This is a perfect opportunity for Scouts to volunteer. They should already know how to work effectively in groups and dress for rain.

Make a plan to provide volunteers to fill sandbags and load them into cars. Find out how many sandbag stations there are, pick a crew size, then make a schedule for shifts. Plan how to contact your troop. After you go over it with your merit badge counselor, you might take it to the city office of emergency services, because it could be a big help.

As part of your plan, you should follow the BSA Service Project Planning Guidelines and the BSA Tool Use Guidelines.

8b. Take part in at least one troop mobilization. Before the exercise, describe your part to your counselor. Afterward, conduct an “after-action” lesson, discussing what you learned during the exercise that required changes or adjustments to the plan.

You can’t really do this requirement unless your troop (not a merit badge midway class) does emergency service. So talk to your SPL about what kind of emergency service your troop can do. Put at least one emergency service event on the troop calendar each year, participate, and this requirement will be easy.

To research ideas, you and your SPL can talk to the Emergency Coordinator (EC) for your local ARES/RACES organization. They’ll have a good grasp of local emergency planning and can give you more contacts.

8c. Prepare a personal emergency service pack for a mobilization call. Prepare a family emergency kit (suitcase or waterproof box) for use by your family in case an emergency evacuation is needed. Explain the needs and uses of the contents.

ARES/RACES volunteers call their personal emergency service packs a “Go Kit”. In our area, we have a “2-Hour Carry Kit” and a “12-Hour Go Kit”. You can use these Go Kit lists as a starting point: PDF Go Kit list, MS Word Go Kit list. The weather in your area will probably require different gear. In our area, we don’t have snow or sub-zero weather.

How do you find your local ARES/RACES group? Ask your local office of emergency services, usually part of the police or fire department. Or ask the fire chief, they should know. You can also search for “ARES RACES” plus the name of your county. There is often a county group that coordinates city groups, for example, this list of city ARES/RACES contacts is on the Santa Clara County ARES/RACES page. Other examples: Williamson County (TX) ARES, Marion County (IN) ARES, and so on. This list of links to ARES/RACES groups might also help, though some links are old and dead.

If you are an ARES/RACES member, consider becoming a merit badge counselor. This merit badge is required for the Eagle rank, so it is very popular. Last year, 46,069 Scouts earned this merit badge!

Note on abbreviations: Amateur radio emergency volunteer groups can be called “ARES” (Amateur Radio Emergency Service, an ARRL-sponsored group), “RACES” (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, a government-sponsored group), or “ACS” (Auxiliary Communications Service, the organizational department name used when deployed). In most cases, there is one group that changes hats for different events, and we call it “ARES/RACES”. For more detailed descriptions and even more acronyms, read the Santa Clara County ARES/RACES FAQ.