so I finally got activated for a real ARES deployment last weekend, not just a drill. local county had some severe weather come through and the EOC wanted us on standby for about 6 hours in case the PSTN went down. nothing dramatic ended up happening thank god but it was still a totally different feeling than any of the training nets or simulated emergency tests I've done before.

I think what caught me off guard was how much hurry-up-and-wait there is. I had this idea in my head from the SET exercises that it would be constant radio traffic and logging and passing formal messages. in reality I sat at my assigned station for like 3 hours barely touching the mic. then when traffic did start flowing I had to shake the rust off real quick and I stumbled over a couple of the prowords which was embarrassing. the EC was really patient about it though.

also realized my go-bag setup has some gaps. my HT battery only had maybe 60% charge when I showed up which was dumb, I knew better. and I forgot a notepad. an actual paper notepad. been so used to logging digitally during normal operations that it didnt even occur to me until I needed it.

anyway just wanted to share in case anyone else is prepping for their first real activation. the training is worth doing even when it feels repetitive. just maybe double check your battery situation beforehand lol

the hurry up and wait thing is SO real and I don't think anyone warns you about it enough. I've been with our ARES group for going on 11 years now and activations are honestly 80% sitting around staying ready and 20% actual comms work. the mental part of staying alert when nothing is happening is kind of its own skill.

on the go-bag stuff - after my second or third activation I basically made a laminated checklist that I go through the night before any deployment, even drills. batteries topped off, spare batteries in the bag, paper log sheets (plural, learned that one the hard way), pens that actually work, snacks, the whole deal. sounds overkill but you do it enough times it becomes second nature. your EC sounds like a good one if they were patient with you on the prowords, some of the older guys can be a bit sharp about that stuff.

congrats on your first activation. im still waiting on mine, been doing the monthly nets and went to the SET back in october but havent been called up for anything real yet. question - did you end up using ICS213 forms for the message traffic or was your group doing something different? our EC keeps telling us to practice those but honestly the format still confuses me a little bit