February 2014 Telephone Call Out Tree Exercise

The 17 February 2014 District net exercised our Telephone Call-Out Tree. The Telephone Call-Out Tree is arranged hierarchically in city groups so that all members are notified in the shortest time. Members are responsible to ensure that their information on the list is accurate. Once notified each member was to check in on the radio to acknowledge contact with net control for the exercise.

Every District 17 DCS member was to be called to simulate a DCS activation order being received at 1930 from the Lomita Sheriff's Station. There are a total of 37 members on our District roster. Each is on the Telephone Call-Out Tree with home phone and cell phone numbers where available.

All calls were made within 25 minutes. As in a real event, some members were not available. Net control recorded that 23 members were contacted, 12 were not available and there were 18 check-ins on the W6TRW 2m repeater or the K6RH 440 repeater. In the group not available some did not answer the phone and there 6 who were contacted but did not check in on the radio. Net control also noted two check-ins who were not contacted on the phone.

Lessons Learned

On the whole the exercise was successful. Members had to obtain a copy of the Telephone Call-Out Tree from the Members Only section of the site and then call the people they were assigned to call. That means you had to find or re-learn your password and find the file. Members were contacted within 25 minutes. We certainly could have gotten enough support to staff the LMT radio room and support anticipated field activities. With 18 members available we could have planned shift rotation for a real event.

As in any exercise there are always areas where we can improve. The anomalous examples of members contacted not checking in and check ins not having been contacted identified break downs in either the instructions or the process execution. When called, each member should call those assigned. If there was no contact with an assigned person, you need continue the process and call those who the non-responding person would have called. Don't let the process die without everyone being called. Suggestions for improvement are always solicited; send any suggestions to T-02.