so i finally got activated for the first time last weekend. our county ARES group got called in to support a search and rescue operation about 20 miles out in some pretty rough terrain where cell service was basically nonexistent. ive been doing the training nets and ICS coursework for like 8 months now and i was honestly a little nervous about whether id remember everything when it actually mattered.

ended up being assigned as a relay station between the incident command post and one of the field teams. nothing glamorous but it was actually kind of interesting work keeping track of traffic and making sure the net control at the EOC was getting clean copy. the served agency guys were really appreciative which surprised me a little, i think sometimes we forget that even basic reliable comms is a big deal when you dont have anything else.

one thing i wasnt prepared for was how much hurry up and wait there is. like you're on standby for a long time and then suddenly theres a flurry of traffic and you have to be sharp. glad i had practiced message handling more than i thought i needed to. anyway just wanted to share since ive seen a lot of posts here from people wondering if ARES is worth getting involved with — from my experience so far yeah it is

that relay experience is honestly some of the most underrated work in emcomm. everyone wants to be net control or at the command post but a solid relay op in bad terrain is what actually makes or breaks the whole operation. sounds like you handled it well. the hurry up and wait thing never really goes away either, you just get used to packing snacks and a good book haha. welcome to the club

this is really encouraging to read, ive been putting off joining my local ARES group because i wasnt sure if my license class would hold me back (im a tech) but it sounds like they found useful stuff for you to do even early on. did they give you much guidance on what radio to bring or were you expected to just figure it out yourself going in? asking because i have no idea what the expectation is for gear at activations