so i finally got activated for a real event last weekend, our county ARES group got called in to support a marathon and then partway through the day a pretty serious weather situation developed nearby so it turned into more than just a fun community service thing real fast

i've been doing training nets for about eight months and passed the ICS courses (100, 200, 700, 800) back in the spring like the EC told us we needed before we could deploy, and i gotta say nothing really prepares you for when the NCS is juggling like four different things at once and you're trying to remember proper net procedure while also watching the sky turn green

the thing that surprised me most was how much of it is just waiting and listening and then suddenly you have to relay a message and you better have been paying attention. i fumbled one message relay because i wrote down the wrong street name and had to ask for a repeat which felt embarrassing but the net control was totally calm about it, just had me say it back again

anyone else remember their first real activation? did you feel like you were gonna mess everything up the whole time or was that just me

haha yeah that feeling doesnt fully go away, at least not for me and ive been doing ARES stuff for going on eleven years now. you just get better at managing it. the fact that you asked for a repeat instead of guessing on that street name is exactly the right call, a wrong address in an emergency situation can waste a lot of time for the served agency and thats way worse than a brief pause on the net

the green sky thing you mentioned, thats when the training really kicks in or doesnt. sounds like yours did. the ICS background helps a lot once you've got some activations under your belt, you start to see how your little piece fits into the bigger picture and it actually makes the waiting less frustrating because you understand why its structured that way

welcome to the club, the one where you hope you never actually get needed but you train like you will

im still working on getting my ICS stuff done before i can deploy with our group so reading this is both exciting and a little terrifying lol. good to know the net controls are patient with people, our EC has said that a few times but its different hearing it from someone who actually just went through it

also curious what radio setup you were running? i keep going back and forth on whether my HT is going to be enough or if i need to get a mobile rig in the car before i try to get on any activations