so we ran a simulated disaster exercise last saturday, countywide thing coordinated with the local ARES group and a couple of served agencies. the scenario was a major flooding event cutting off two townships from normal comms infrastructure - cell towers down, internet out, the whole deal. we had about 14 operators participating which honestly felt thin for the area we were trying to cover but whatever, you work with what you have.

the thing that really got me was how fast things broke down when we tried to do formal traffic handling. a few of the newer folks hadnt really drilled on NTS-style message format and when the net control started asking for precedence and handling instructions there was this long awkward pause on the frequency. not blaming anyone, we've all been there, but it made me realize our group spends way too much time talking about equipment and not nearly enough actually practicing the procedures.

also our primary repeater is on a hilltop with commercial power and no battery backup beyond like 4 hours. that came up in the debrief and there was a lot of uncomfortable silence in the room. we knew it was an issue but seeing it written on the whiteboard as a critical failure point during a drill hits different than just knowing it abstractly.

anybody else done exercises recently and found stuff like this? im curious what gaps other groups have discovered and how you ended up addressing them. especially the training side of things, not just the gear.

yeah the message handling thing is so common it's almost expected at this point. our group ran into the exact same wall about two years ago during an SET and the EC basically made ICS-213 and basic traffic handling a mandatory training night after that. took a few sessions but it made a real difference the next time around.

the repeater backup power issue is a big one though and its harder to fix than just running a training night. we ended up partnering with the county EMA to get a grant for a proper battery and solar setup on ours. took about 18 months of paperwork but it got done. the key was framing it as critical infrastructure for served agencies, not just an amateur radio convenience. if your ARES EC hasnt already tried that angle with the county it might be worth bringing up.

honestly the fact that you did the debrief and wrote stuff on a whiteboard puts you ahead of a lot of groups. ive seen after-action reports just kind of disappear into someone's email and nothing changes. good luck with it

this is actually making me want to get more involved with our local ARES group. i got my general last year and kind of just been doing HF ragchewing but i keep hearing about these exercises and feeling like maybe im missing out on something more meaningful. do you have to have a lot of experience to participate or is it ok to show up as basically a newbie? i dont want to be the person causing the awkward silence lol