so i finally got activated for a real event last weekend, our county ARES group was supporting the local marathon and it was my first time doing anything other than the monthly nets and tabletop exercises. overall it went pretty smooth but there were a few things that kind of threw me off and i wanted to get some perspective from people who've been doing this longer.

the main thing was the ICS stuff — i knew the basics from taking IS-100 and IS-200 online but actually slotting into the incident command structure in the field is a completely different thing. the EC was acting as the liaison with the served agency and i was just a net control relay basically but even so i wasnt totally sure when i was supposed to check in versus wait to be called. we were using simplex on a local calling freq and it got pretty busy around mile 18 where they had a medical tent.

also curious how often your groups actually do real activations vs just drills and nets. we've had maybe 2-3 real ones this year and i feel like that's not enough to really get comfortable with the procedures. does your group do any kind of after action review or debrief? ours kind of just dispersed after the event and i had to track down the EC later to ask questions.

yeah the jump from tabletop to real activation is always a little jarring the first time, dont sweat it. the ICS integration piece specifically takes a few go-arounds to feel natural. what helped me was just being super explicit with whoever i was working for — like asking directly "do you want me to check in on schedule or wait for you to call me" before the event even starts. most ECs appreciate that because half the volunteers just assume and then you get people keying up at the wrong time.

the after action thing is a real problem in a lot of groups honestly. the ones that do formal AARs even just a quick 20 minute debrief in the parking lot are so much better at improving over time. if your group isnt doing it might be worth just suggesting it, frame it as something you want for yourself as a newer operator and most ECs will go for it. nobody wants to say no to someone genuinely trying to learn.

2-3 activations a year with a marathon or public service event type thing is actually pretty normal for a lot of county groups. some areas just dont have that much call for it which is honestly fine, means nothing bad is happening. the monthly net practice matters more than people think even if it feels repetitive.

mile 18 medical tent getting busy tracks, that's usually where people hit the wall and things get interesting. good experience to have even if it was a little hectic.

one thing i'd add — ask your EC about doing some simplex range testing before the next activation if you havent already. nothing worse than finding out your HT doesnt quite reach the relay point during an actual event. we learned that the hard way at a bike race a few years back, operator at the finish line could barely copy the guy at the water station 3 miles out and we had to scramble.