so i've been part of our local ARES group for about 8 months now and mostly it's just been the monthly nets and a couple tabletop exercises which were honestly kind of low-key. but theres a big county emergency management drill coming up in three weeks and our EC told me i'll actually be deployed to the EOC as a radio operator and i dont really know what to expect.

like i've done the ICS-100 and 200 online courses which they required and i have my go-bag more or less put together (HT, spare batts, paper logs, the usual) but i've never actually sat in an EOC and done real traffic handling under pressure with non-ham people around watching. anyone been through something like that for the first time? did you feel completely lost or does it kind of click once you're actually doing it?

also not sure if i should bring my own headset or if they usually have stuff set up there already. my EC is pretty approachable but he's been slammed with logistics and i dont want to bug him with every little question

oh man i remember my first EOC deployment, it was for a winter storm exercise about two years after i got my ticket. honestly the thing that helped me most was just showing up early and introducing myself to the served agency folks before things got hectic. they appreciate knowing who you are and what you're there to do, and it breaks the ice so when you're passing traffic later it doesn't feel as weird.

the actual radio work during a drill is usually way less chaotic than you'd expect, at least at first. there's a lot of waiting around and then a burst of activity and then more waiting. just keep your log current and don't be afraid to ask for a repeat on anything you didn't copy clearly, nobody thinks less of you for that. re: the headset, i'd bring your own just in case. EOC setups vary wildly, sometimes they have nice rigs all ready to go and sometimes you're working off a folding table with a radio someone dragged out of their trunk. better to have it and not need it.

bring the headset. seriously. EOCs can get loud and you dont want to be straining to hear while someones on a speakerphone three feet away from you. thats just my experience anyway.

also the ICS stuff does actually matter once you're in there, like when someone asks you to route a message you'll understand the structure of who talks to who and it'll make sense. don't stress too much, drills are specifically designed so people can make mistakes and learn from them. thats the whole point of doing them before a real event.