Why CB?  "C"itizens "B"and

The time lag for a member getting up on a Ham frequency is 3 to 6 months. I don't think we can wait that long. The member going that route and that is already licensed and on the air can set up a radio net amongst themselves today. Most won't be able to get there until they are licensed.  ( no license needed to monitor or talk in an emergency)

You can buy  a CB at a swap-meet, flea market, Radio shack and be on the air in 15 minutes. Thus I wanted to allow those members who have no time, money, expertise to help me set up a network in every county to supplement the phone call tree.

CB is a fast and cheap way to get comms up. However they are limited by the FCC to 4 watts. Some radios can be tweeked to put out 5 or 6 watts with very little effort or time. However real world range which is dependent on terrain is about 5-10 miles.  In the CB world your Antenna is everything.  Even at your radios low power you can benefit from using a properly tuned and installed antenna. 

If you can get a CB that allows you to use Single Sideband as well as the Normal AM output. This will increase your range slightly on SSB as well aid in COMMSEC as most CB's cant RX just the SSB.

CB is known to most amateurs as 11 meter and certain HAM rigs will TX/RX in that band usually at about 50 watts. Those rigs start new at about $700 and go up to the 10's of thousands.

If you want to get comms up quickly using CB's I would recommend using an Amplifier.

The FCC rules prohibit it under normal circumstances but enforcement has been lax in recent years. In the event of an emergency the FCC rules allow you to use as much power as needed for effective communications on any frequency or emission type.

One source of affordable amps:

http://www.xforceamps.com/shop/?shop=1&cat=23

There are others Research and if you find a good deal let everyone know!

For Mobile applications I recommend the K40 Antenna.  It has several mounting options and has the best gain for the money.  However if you have the mounting room the 102" Stainless Steel whip is always the best as it can be used ( with a tuner ) on most all HF amateur bands.