Ahhhhh, so it’s working! You think this is confusing? This is NOTHING compared to the real thing.
I’ve received a few emails from some great folks who are still trying to figure out T-Rex.
“I have the SOI and I just bought a shortwave with ssb. I want to tune into the t-Rex traffic, but I cannot be the only guy out here looking at all of this info and thinking “huh?”
There’s a reason why AmRRON and the Partisans of Radio Free Redoubt have been participating and/or monitoring AmRRON communications nets for over two years. So in a real-world situation all the bugs will be worked out and they’re comfortable with their gear, the procedures, and their skillsets. All this practice, and they want to put it to the test.
In the military and law enforcement there is a saying — ‘you will fight how you train’. Combat, disasters, and unrest are confusing and chaotic. So how do we train for that? We create controlled chaos — not enough to overcomplicate things to the point that learning doesn’t take place, but just enough where you’re challenged and grow from it. When you work through it, skills are honed and confidence is built.
For three years we’ve strongly emphasized PRACTICE and TRAINING with your gear, your manuals, and the communications protocols! We pound on the pulpit (microphone) to participate or at least monitor the AmRRON nets. We also have been saying that if you just buy a radio and stick it in a faraday cage, you won’t communicate if you never take it out of the box until game day. In T-Rex, you have a distinct advantage in this disaster situation. You have a timeline. You know most of the events. You know there will be a communications net. You know you will lose basic services such as power, phones, internet, etc.
If you have NOT been practicing, it will show. If you’ve never studied the SOI, it will show. And it already is.
Some of you are struggling. Most of you are not. The difference is practice and familiarization. If you are just coming on board, that is understandable. But many of you have been hanging out for a long time. In this ‘controlled chaos’ training exercise, we WANT you to grow and gain confidence. If something doesn’t work how you expected, take good notes and we’ll debrief it after the exercise. In the end, we are all individually responsible to make sure we’re proficient with our gear and skills. When a disaster strikes, how you perform will be entirely on you.
T-Rex is really not that complicated. It’s designed to give you a scenario to respond to. It’s designed to challenge all of us. And it is designed to reveal weaknesses so we can grow, both for future training and real-world situations.
The expectations are realistic:
A) Practice your own family/group grid-down plan and test out your gear. Keep a journal.
B) Go through the Communications SOI and familiarize yourself with it. Make notes to adjust for Zulu Time/day.
C) Follow the website for updates and T-Rex news.
D) Listen to your radio. Write down what you hear and keep a communications journal. If you don’t hear anything on the radio, so what!
E) Pass on the messages you hear to whomever you can. If you don’t get hold of anyone, so what! Put the message out anyway in case someone is listening but cannot talk back to you.
F) On Sunday, go to www.RadioFreeRedoubt.com or www.AmRRON.com and fill out the T-Rex Quiz as best as you can.
If some of you are confused, remember, it is INTENDED to be confusing. It is ‘Controlled Chaos.’ And remember, the confusion and stress level pales in comparison to a real-world disaster of a much lesser scale. Hang in there, do what you can, and learn from it!
God bless all of you! Now go train!
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