so i finally got activated for real last weekend, not just a drill. there was some pretty bad flooding in the county over and we had our ARES group called up to support the EOC and a couple of the Red Cross shelters. ive been doing the monthly nets and a few SET exercises but nothing prepared me for how different it feels when its actually happening and people are depending on the comms.

the thing that surprised me most was how much waiting around there is, like you show up and get assigned a position and then just kind of sit there monitoring for long stretches and then suddenly everything gets busy at once. also the ICS stuff they drilled into us actually mattered — when i handed off my position to the next operator i knew exactly what info to pass along which felt good.

anyway just wanted to share since ive seen a few people on here asking what real activations are like vs the training exercises. the training really does help but its hard to describe the difference in feel. also bring snacks because nobody thinks about that

Yeah the waiting is real, thats pretty much how it goes. I've been doing ARES for about twelve years now and the activations that stick with me are the ones where the pacing was completely unpredictable. Our EC always says treat it like a long contest but without the fun parts haha. Glad the ICS training clicked for you in the moment though, a lot of newer operators kind of glaze over that stuff in the classroom and then scramble when the actual forms need to be filled out or when someone asks them for a status update in proper format.

The snack thing is no joke either. I started keeping a small bag in my go kit after the second or third time I ended up running on vending machine coffee for six hours. good work getting out there and doing it for real

this is really helpful to read, im studying for my general right now and have been thinking about getting into ARES once i upgrade. didnt realize the ICS training was that important, i kind of assumed it was just bureaucratic stuff they make you sit through. maybe i should actually pay more attention to that part when i get there