so i finally got my general last spring and joined the local ARES group a couple months ago. been going to the nets and doing the weekly check-ins but this weekend is apparently going to be an actual activation for a pretty big community event, like they're expecting 15,000 people at this outdoor festival and they want us to handle comms between the medical tent, parking, and the main stage area.

my EC gave me a brief rundown but i think i missed some stuff and im kind of nervous about screwing something up. like do i just bring my HT and wait to be told where to go? i have a little experience with ICS from a class i took but ive never actually done this in a real deployment situation. also not sure if i should bring my own feedline and antenna stuff or if the group has that handled. any advice from people who have done this before would be really helpful

Yeah first activations can feel a little overwhelming but honestly once you get there and get assigned to a position it clicks pretty fast. The main thing is just show up early, check in with whoever is running the net control or the incident comms, and don't freelance. ICS stuff matters here, you work through your supervisor and you don't go making decisions on your own even if you think you know better. Most ECs will give you a specific position and frequency assignment so you're not just standing around guessing.

As for gear, always bring your own HT fully charged plus a spare battery if you have one. Bring a notepad and pen, people forget this constantly and it makes you look disorganized. I wouldn't haul out all your antenna gear unless your EC specifically asked for it, for an event like that most of the comms will be simplex or through a local repeater they've already coordinated. Just ask your EC ahead of time what the tactical frequencies are so you can program them in before you show up, saves a ton of headache on the day.

You'll do fine, honestly the first one is mostly just learning the rhythm of it.

bring snacks lol. seriously nobody tells you this but you might be standing in a parking lot for 6 hours and the catering is not for you. also sunscreen if its an outdoor thing. i learned both of those the hard way at a marathon event last year

the radio stuff will sort itself out, just listen more than you talk and you'll be fine