Credentials

Credentials have the following functions:

  • Serve as a form of identification and indication of membership in a certain organization
  • Indicates a level of proficiency proved or having qualified for a specific position
  • Used to check-in and check-out as a resource for an Incident or Event

Credentialing Information

The KC Metropolitan Emergency Coordinators Council (MECC) has a Credentialing Committee that reviews educational and experiential documentation submitted by Radio Amateurs. The committee performs an unbiased evaluation of submitted information and periodically reaches out to various organizations to verify claimed experience. Using Kansas Personnel Qualifications criteria outlined in ESF-2 Communications, the Credential Committee developed instructions and requirements detailed in the document below:

All KS-LV-ARES members are encouraged, as a minimum, to complete the few requirements for Amateur Radio Operator – Level IV and submit documentation to the Credentialing Committee. When filling out the online form, for the question that states, “MECC Agency including contact person name and email. (example: KCHEART, ARES)”, be sure to include the names and email addresses for:

  • KS-LV-ARES Emergency Coordinator (NJØP)
  • Leavenworth County Office of Emergency Management
  • KCHEART Coordinator (KC4CWG)

You will not be personally notified by the committee of the results of your review. Only your Emergency Coordinator will contact you so be sure to include him in the answer to the question above.

Use: The level you achieve will eventually find its way to any official credentialing you receive, such as KCHEART and Leavenworth County Emergency Management. You are a resource. The credentialing process allows emergency managers to know what type of resource you are and to what level you can be expected to perform if you show up to an event, incident, exercise or training. There are 4 levels, Level IV being the basic level and Level I being a leadership level.

ARES: ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Services®, inexplicably, does not use ESF-2 Communications levels. ARES Levels are actually inverse to the rest of the emergency services world. ARES Level 1 is the entry level. ARES Level 3 is the highest level and is considered a leadership level. Fortunately, almost all the education and experience requirements for ESF-2 and ARES are the same. Your ARES Task Book, as kept by the Emergency Coordinator, shows where accomplishment for one service applies to the other. Send an email to your EC for an updated copy of your ARES® Task Book.

KC HEARTKansas City Hospital Emergency Amateur Radio Team (KCHEART) provides credentials to identify a Radio Amateur’s capabilities according to ESF-2 resource typing levels as verified by the MECC Credentialing Committee. This ensures operators can be easily placed for immediate assignment at the right level at any hospital should the occasion require it.