TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WV ARES BULLETIN NR 09.39 DATE: September 27, 2009
SUBJECT: DRILLS ARE FOR MISTAKES
Don't be afraid to make mistakes during disaster drills and exercises, as long as you learn from the mistakes. The purpose of drills and exercises is to learn.
Drills and exercises also allow you to try procedures that "look good" on paper, before you have to use them in real emergencies. The more you participate in drills and exercises, the more proficient you become.
The more proficient you become, the less mistakes you will make in a real emergency. Don't be afraid to speak up if you think you have a better way of doing something. Your way may be better, or may have already been tried and failed, but in any case it's a way to learn.
No two drills or exercises are the same, so procedures that work on one may not work as well on another, but it's a way to learn. You won't be hung at sunrise if you make a mistake, as long as you don't make the same mistake twice, and especially in a real disaster or emergency.
(Reprint, with modifications of, Wood County RACES Bulletin NR 96.49 by Duane Jones N8LDM)
Ken Harris WA8LLM
Wood County WV
WV ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
WV ARES District 3 Emergency Coordinator