Amateur radio emergency services are changing — and not for the better.
From Vermont sunsetting RACES, to declining ARES participation, to new credentialing requirements that risk pushing volunteers out, this video examines a growing disconnect between emergency management, ARRL leadership, and the volunteers who actually show up.
This video is inspired by a detailed viewer email from an ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinator and RACES participant who has lived these issues firsthand.
We discuss:
• Declining volunteer participation
• State-level credentialing failures
• ARRL leadership communication gaps
• The 2025 ARES Plan and its consequences
• Why Skywarn still works
• And why “use it or lose it” is no longer theoretical
This is not an attack — it’s a warning.
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