so i joined my local ARES group about four months ago and have been going to the monthly nets and training sessions but this weekend theres an actual activation for a county-level flood watch that got upgraded to a warning overnight. my EC called me this morning and asked if i could staff the EOC for a few hours tomorrow and i said yes before i even really thought about what that means

i know the basics, ive done the ICS-100 and ICS-700 online courses and i passed my general last year. but like, what does it actually look like when you show up? do i just bring my HT or do they have equipment at the EOC already? and is there some kind of check-in procedure or does the EC just tell you where to stand? i dont want to look like an idiot showing up not knowing anything

any advice from people who've done real activations would be really appreciated, even just like what to bring in terms of snacks and stuff because i have no idea how long ill be there

hey congrats on getting called up, that's a good sign your EC thinks you're ready. first thing i'd say is just reach out to your EC today if you haven't already and ask specifically what they need from you — are you running a net, logging, just being a second set of hands, what. every EOC setup is different and some have full stations already installed while others expect you to bring something. when i did my first activation years ago i showed up with my IC-706 in a bag for no reason because they had a dedicated station already wired in

bring water and food for at least 6-8 hours even if they say it'll be short. it almost never is. notebook and pens, multiple pens. your ICS forms either printed or on a tablet. and honestly just be ready to mostly listen and observe the first time, there's usually an experienced op there and the best thing you can do is watch how they handle traffic and ask questions in the quiet moments. you'll do fine, the fact that you're nervous means you're taking it seriously which is exactly what you want

yeah what he said about the food is no joke lol. my first real activation I forgot to eat and by hour five i was completely useless. also just make sure your HT is charged and bring extra batteries anyway just in case, even if they have a base station set up you want to have something on you if they send you somewhere else in the building or whatever. good luck with it, flood watches can get busy fast with a lot of welfare traffic and resource requests so just stay calm and write everything down