so i finally got activated for real last weekend, not just a drill. there was a pretty bad storm system that came through our county and the EOC requested ARES support around saturday evening. ive been a member of our local group for about 8 months now and done maybe 4 or 5 training nets and one tabletop exercise but nothing that actually counted for real.

i was assigned to a shelter about 6 miles from the EOC and basically my job was just passing welfare traffic and keeping the net control updated on how many people were coming in. sounds simple and it mostly was, but man there were a few moments where things got a little hectic - the repeater we were supposed to use had some kind of issue early on and we had to switch to simplex for about 45 minutes which nobody had really practiced much. i managed okay but i was definitely fumbling around in my logbook more than id like to admit.

anyway just wanted to share because i know a lot of folks on here are in ARES or thinking about joining and its one of those things where the drills feel almost too easy until something doesnt go according to plan. the training is worth it though, even when it feels repetitive. anybody else have a first activation story they remember?

that simplex situation is so real, we had almost the exact same thing happen at a flood support operation a couple years back. everyone trains on the repeater and then the moment you need to go direct nobody remembers their simplex calling frequencies or what power level makes sense for the terrain. after that our EC made simplex practice a regular part of our monthly nets and it helped a lot.

sounds like you did fine though, keeping a log and staying on top of shelter numbers is honestly most of what the EOC actually needs from a shelter station. dont be too hard on yourself about the fumbling, everyone does it the first time especially when the adrenaline is up a little. the fact that you stayed on net and kept passing traffic is what matters. good on ya for getting involved, a lot of people get their ticket and never bother with any of this stuff.

congrats on your first real one. im still waiting for mine, been with our ARES group almost a year and we havent had an activation yet, just monthly check-in nets and the occasional SET. kind of antsy to see how it actually goes when its not pretend. did your group do any ICS training before this or were you just kind of thrown in? our EC keeps mentioning IS-100 and IS-700 but hasnt made it required yet and i wasnt sure how much it actually matters at the shelter level vs the EOC.