I spent the last 2 weekends taking ICS-300 and 400 to add to the rest of the folder full of FEMA certificates in the binder that always travels in my go bag. I took these courses, because for the position I hold, they are now required training under the new statewide training plan.
The instructors were two recently retired county EMA directors. As guest speakers, they brought in the two currently serving EMA directors whose counties secured the grant money that paid for the courses to be put on.
Most of the other students were fire fighters, EMTs, and law enforcement officers. Most of them were rank and file people, some were command grade folks in their various departments. I was the only ARES person in the class. And I wasn't in a geographical area where I had responsibility. I wasn't in my district, or any of the 6 counties that comprise my district, so none of these people knew me from Adam. None of the other students had ever heard of ARES before. But the instructors knew what ARES is, and so did the other two EMA directors who addressed the group.
The common theme among all 4 EMA directors, is that we are (ARES) are valued. They know who we are, they know what we can do, and they all spoke highly of what we bring to the table. That may not be true everywhere. But it is around here.
As for reliable digi and cellular, under normal circumstances yes they are. But when things really go sideways, you lose those quickly. I've seen it happen. Those networks are not as reliable and resilient as you think they are, or are led to believe. And believe me when I tell you we certainly do not bring a van of Drake 4-line gear. They're great for a home station, but not terribly useful in the field these days. We bring all solid state gear, with antennas to cover all bands 1.8 - 450 MHz, all modes, including digital, and sufficient power to operate in the field, off the grid, for as long as we need to.