so i just got my general license about 4 months ago and somehow ended up joining our county ARES group almost right away because a guy at my club basically dragged me in, which im glad he did but now theres a potential activation coming up because of some flooding in the area and the EC called a net tonight saying we might be needed at the EOC tomorrow.

i've done a couple of the weekly nets and one tabletop exercise but nothing real. not sure what gear i should have ready or how formal it all is when you actually show up at the EOC. do they just tell you where to sit and what frequency or is there more to it. also my HT is just a baofeng uv5r which i know people have opinions about but its what i have right now. will that be a problem or should i just not worry about it for now

welcome to the real stuff, honestly the first activation is a little intimidating but it usually calms down fast once you're there and have a task. most EOCs i've worked have a check-in process and they'll assign you a position, could be handling traffic on a specific repeater, maybe running a simplex link somewhere, just depends what they need that day.

the baofeng will be fine for an HT role, just make sure you've got the programmed frequencies your EC gave out and bring a spare battery or a way to charge. i'd also bring a notepad and pen, like actual paper, sounds obvious but you'd be surprised. write everything down, time, who said what, traffic content. that habit will serve you well. mostly just follow the lead of whoever's running the net and dont be afraid to ask if you're unclear on a procedure, nobody expects a new member to know everything on day one

yeah the baofeng thing is a non issue just bring it and do the job, ive seen people get way too hung up on gear when the real skill is just being reliable and showing up. one thing though -- make sure your ICS paperwork is at least somewhat familiar to you, like the 214 activity log especially. some activations they want you filling those out and its a bit awkward if you've never seen one before. your EC probably has templates, worth asking before tomorrow if you get a chance