There's been some talk floating around the internet about the ARRL's ARES Mutual Assistance Team idea. 
The concept is fairly new. Currently there are no hard and fast rules about how MAT teams will be formed and trained.
But here's the basics of the plan for Southern New Jersey:

A pool of operators from around the SNJ Section will be formed and trained to deploy to Southern New Jersey counties as needed. If a county finds itself short of local operators during an activation, they'll be able to request additional operators from the MAT. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. The Mutual Assistance Operators will be controlled and tasked by the local county's leadership. They "become" local operators. 

It is not unusual for a group (even with a large membership) to find itself shorthanded during an emergency. Members will be tending to their own needs: family; property; etc...
The prime reason for ARESMAT is to provide supplemental operators when local operators are unavailable or need relief -- either for shift changes or to return to their families.

We're in the early planning stages at the moment but will post our progress here. 
Any input, suggestions, ideas, or comments are welcomed.

73
Tim
NJ2N
SNJ ARESMAT Technical Advisor