Well since someone kicked this dead horse...
I would like to add a couple things, in a slightly less tyranical tone.
ARES needs to be rebranded and retrained with a new book and purpose.
I haven;t paid alot of attention lately to the ranks getting their licenses, when this was active last time we had a glut of SAR types getting their tickets for teh sole purpose of being able to communicate and because ham radios were cheaper than commercial radios... BaoFung vs Motorola it ain't even close.
As far as the rebranding and new purpose.
Do we still need the ability to communicate into teh next town, sure and to the state EMA. But there are other needs that are going unfilled.
Here are a couple to support the general pubilc.
1. A freely accessible wifi network for the general public to access their social media. While this sounds like silliness, consider that people communicate over social media... and the quickest way for them to contact their families that are away from the disaster location is social media.
2. Kiosk computers on some level of Internet for the same purpose. Again, it's how we communicate now. If you have some way of making this happen in a real disaster, you are a freaking hero to the public.
3. Video feeds to Incident command. A picture is worth a thousand words. So what is 24 frames a second worth. Drones can't be legally flown in a disaster area. But a camera on top our favorite hamfest fiberglass antenna poles with a wifi link back to the ICC (incident Command Center) that is quickly deployable and cheap is a very effective tool for real time information for alot of things,, not just disaster damage, but at the front gates of the hospital. It will give indication of the work load at the local hospital and as long as it's in the front yard, there is no expectation of privacy and therefore OK to be done. ANd if you have several of these that can be deployed from the trunk of a car or the bed of a pickup then all the better to set it, power it and go on to the next one. If you loose it, have the discussion ahead of time with your served agency,,, they will probably pay for the loss after the smoke had cleared.
4. COMMUNICATE with your served agency and see what needs they perceive having. And plan for those needs, but don't stop there. The truth is that the cool little books that are put together for a disaster never get pulled out, we have them because someone required them to be created. Don't train to deal with a specific disaster.... plan and train to deal with the common issues with all disasters. Things like displaced citizens, the need of water, ice, food, shelter, toilet paper. Do you realize how valuable ass wipe is after a disaster when the shelves at the Walmart are bare and you are needing to take a crap? Toilet paper is like rolls of money about 3 days after the shelves are bare and people are resorting to magazine and newspaper pages to do their business. Got nothing to do with radio, but know where you can find toilet paper and you are a hero. So how does ham radio fit into this. Because you can communicate and provide logistics. There will be needs for materials. If you know what those materials are and can communicate where they are at, you are helping.