ARES is a national level volunteer organization whose purpose is to serve the public by providing licensed, certified, and competent Amateur Radio communications to federal, state, county, and local government agencies, as well as to nonprofit disaster relief organizations.

The primary activity of ARES is to provide emergency communications during disasters or significant events such as severe weather (hurricanes, flash floods, ice storms), power failures, large area events (parades, marathons, races, walks, bicycle tours), etc.

During an event, ARES will supplement public service communications or stand in the place of primary normal communications when other channels become unavailable. ARES will operate before, during, and after major disasters.

Amateurs participate in annual emergency communications preparedness exercises such as the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsored Section Emergency Test (SET) and Field Day. Amateurs also participate regularly in local training exercises frequently in support of local emergency management agencies. In addition, Amateurs attend presentations and undertake self-study to improve their emergency preparedness expertise.