The operations performed by volunteer amateur radio operators as members of the Sussex County RACES program are in support of the communications needs of the Sussex County Department of Emergency Operations. The RACES Radio Officer (RO), who is in charge of the program, is directly responsible to the county Director of Emergency Operations.

RACES Operators must meet designated training, participation, and acceptability standards. These operators may be assigned to the EOC, designated as net control stations, liason stations, or assigned to locations other than the primary stations at the direction of the EOD or designee.

Training and participation requirements will be established by the county RACES Radio Officer (RO) in cooperation with the County EOD. Local training, on-line courses from recognized agencies, and other approved resources, may be required. Acceptability standards are determined by the county authorities.

The Primary EOC station shall be equipped to provide operation on assigned High Frequency (HF), Very High Frequency (VHF), and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Amateur Radio allocations. Provision shall also be made for joint service Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Communications Service (NCS) Shared High Frequency Resources (SHARES) program operation. Simultaneous operation of two or more positions is required. The second station located in the Mobile Command Post (MCP) shall be at a minimum be operational on assigned VHF and UHF frequencies, and adaptable for HF operation if necessary.

Operations in support of an incident are instituted by an Activation Order. The term Activate is specific to the RACES program. The order to Activate is given by the EOD or RO to meet specific incidents; as such the RACES members now operate as agents of the county, and are extended certain benefits and protection as provided by county authority. The order to Deactivate indicates the end of authorized operation.

The Sussex County Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) Group, by the direction of the county Emergency Management Director (EOD), is the official point of contact (POC) for Sussex County Emergency Management interoperation with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsored Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES).

To augment and support communication needs during unusual situations, the Sussex County RACES Group will be "activated" by responsible authority (EOD / RACES RO/ARO). RACES activation and response will be determined on a case by case basis for each event or incident. As appropriate for the situation, RACES personnel will be operational on predetermined frequencies, from directed locations, to interact with, and receive reports from ARES and the amateur community at large. The county government, in this relationship, is the "served agency", accessed through the RACES POC. The ARES and amateur community at large, given their distribution across the county, state, and peninsula, are a valuable resource in the ability to provide "ground truth" reports on conditions in their immediate area.

Assignment and utilization of resources, as provided in the National Support Framework (NSF) is to be managed by the delegation of the Incident Commander (IC/EOD) through the established command structure. The utilization of the Amateur Radio resource is provided for under Emergency Support Function 2 (ESF2) of the federal and State of Delaware Emergency Operations Plan (DEOP).

For this relationship to work effectively; there should be group interaction, joint exercises, and mutual support of public service events, in order to effect a smooth and efficient interoperation. Through the practice and application of communication skills during scheduled, managed events, those skills, applicable in an emergency situation, are developed and strengthened.

The Tri-Service Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) interoperability guidelines will be utilized, as applicable, by any MARS member, from any Sussex County RACES Group station, using the individual member’s callsign. The individual member is responsible for assuring operational compliance with the guidelines of their respective branch of service. The initiative to effect MARS interoperation with ARES/RACES is to be supported, particularly in the generation of Essential Elements of Information (EEI) reports, utilizing the "ground truth" reports from ARES/RACES.