What's a SET?
A Simulated Emergency Test is a structured drill designed to test the readiness of emergency communicators before an actual disaster occurs. Think of it as a fire drill for radio operators. No real emergency is happening, but everyone practices as if one is.
This year's scenario places McMinn County EMA in a PACE-plan situation: Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency communications have all either failed, been overwhelmed, or proven insufficient to handle the traffic load. That puts amateur and auxiliary communications operators squarely in the role of the "E"... the last resort. It's not a role that gets activated often, but when it is, preparedness matters enormously.
How the exercise works
A three-person team will staff the radio room at the McMinn EOC (Emergency Operations Center) in Athens from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (14:00–16:00 UTC). Their job is to interface with EMA's SmartBoard displays, track incoming messages, and manage traffic, all while demonstrating how volunteer communicators can integrate into a real EOC workflow.
Outside the EOC, participants throughout the region will operate in a "tabletop" capacity. You won't need to deploy anywhere. Your role is simply to pass a message to the EOC when called upon, a check-in, a status report, or a formatted ICS-213 message. Your day stays largely uninterrupted.
Some simulation activity begins as early as Monday, April 13th. Keep an eye on your email, digital modes, and voice repeaters throughout the week, not just on Saturday.
Where MeshCore fits in
McMinn ACS coordinator Kenny Witt made it explicit in his invitation to the mesh community: MeshCore operators, both licensed amateur and non-amateur, are welcome. If you're already connected to the TennMesh network and can pass and receive messages, you're already doing the thing. This exercise formalizes it.
This is a meaningful milestone. It represents the first time our regional mesh network will be evaluated alongside voice, packet, Winlink, APRS, FLDIGI, and GMRS operators in a coordinated emergency communications exercise. The information gathered will directly inform how future training is structured.
Who can participate
Anyone with some kind of dependable communications capability. Amateur voice, MeshCore (non-amateur and amateur are welcome), Packet, APRS, Winlink, FLDIGI, and GMRS are all forms of communication that could and should be utilized.
How to register
Send the following information to MCMINNEOC@WINLINK.ORG:
Important: Be sure to include //WL2K somewhere in the subject line to get past the email filters.
- Your name
- Organization you belong to (TennMesh is fine if you're not part of another organized group)
- Type of radio/mode (mesh, packet, GMRS, amateur, etc.)
- Contact information
- Physical address (for mapping in the EOC)
You'll receive a confirmation reply early the first part of the week.
A note for TennMesh operators: If you're part of the mesh and able to communicate back and forth with others, you're certainly already capable of participating. A working node and a message to pass is all it takes. This is exactly the kind of real-world validation that demonstrates the value of MeshCore infrastructure to county EMA offices.. and that reputation is built exercise by exercise.
Original message from Kenny Witt, KC4OJS
Below is the original ICS-213 general message sent by McMinn County ACS coordinator Kenny Witt inviting operators to participate.
GENERAL MESSAGE (ICS 213) Incident Name: 20260418SET To (Name and Position): ACS MEMBERS / AREA AMATEUR VOLUNTEERS From (Name and Position): Kenny Witt, KC4OJS ARO Subject: UPCOMING SET, APRIL 18TH, YOUR HELP NEEDED Date: 2026-04-03 Time: 07:49 Message: Hey folks, Just a notice to update you on the upcoming SET (Simulated Emergency Training) coming up on APRIL 18th. After meeting with EMA staff yesterday (Cameron) we discussed the SET will involve three operators in the Mcminn EOC in Athens. Additionally there will be needed several participants throughout the area. The area participants will be strictly "table-top" meaning you will not actually be deploying or responding, with the exception of a "radio call", handling a message, or a "check-in", however, each of you will have a message to pass to the EOC during the exercise. Your day will not be interrupted other than that. It will be up to the three staff members in the radio room to respond to whatever information you pass on to them. Sounds like they will be busy! To give you some extra insight to the SET, the team in the EOC is going to be tasked to perform with the understanding that a PACE type situation has occurred throughout the entire region. Meaning all forms of communication have either failed, been overwhelmed, or is currently insufficient to handle the traffic to / from the EOC. Therefore (and this is about the only time we would ever be utilized) the EMA staff will task us to perform as their "E" in the PACE plan Who can participate in this exercise? That's easy.....anyone with some kind of dependable communications capability. Amateur voice, MESHCORE (non amateur and amateur are welcome), PACKET, APRS, WINLINK, FLDIGI, GMRS are forms of communication that could / should be utilized. Does it have to be Mcminn ACS volunteers only? No, we do not have the volunteers to take care of what the county is going to ask us to do. So we need to intentionally reach out to other clubs, organizations, and other counties around us to enlist their help. Jodie in Meigs...this means your folks. Steve in Bradley....you guys too. Caleb....you already know this will involve Monroe ARES. MeshCore folks.....you are already sending and receiving messages assigned to you by ACS. Congratulations. Nice job! For everyone: Something you need to do now. Send the following information to MCMINNEOC@WINLINK.ORG Your name: Organization you belong too: Type of radio (mode, amateur, SHARES, MESH, PACKET, GMRS, etc): Contact information (how we would reach you to ask for help): Physical address (so we can put you on the map in the EOC)): Also, please forward this email on to anyone you feel would like to participate in the "tabletop" SET on the 18th. Ask them to send the information requested above. It will take a couple of days but they will get a reply around the first of the week acknowledging receipt of their information. Everyone have a good weekend. Kenny Witt, Mcminn County ACS coordinator.
Follow-up message from Kenny Witt, KC4OJS — April 17th
The day before the exercise, Kenny sent a follow-up with details on how to participate Saturday morning.
Tomorrow (Saturday), three McMinn ACS radio operators will conduct the exercise mentioned last Monday night at the MCARC club meeting. They will operate from the McMinn EOC. They do not know what the exercise will be about, but it will not be about Watts Bar. However you monitor the MCARC repeaters, frequencies, MESH, digital, etc., you might want to do so in the morning, starting just before 10:00 AM Eastern. The operators need to hear from you. Use whatever mode or method you choose, but making contact with the EOC is your first goal. After you make contact, you might be asked to "simulate" going somewhere or doing something, but your portion of the exercise will be "tabletop" — meaning you will not actually have to do anything that will interrupt your day. There may be some out-of-county communications required. If so, below are the webpages for some of the TNARES (ARES) organizations nearby: Monroe County: https://tnares.com/find-your-county/east/district-7/monroe-county Bradley County: https://tnares.com/find-your-county/east/district-7/bradley-county Meigs County: https://tnares.com/find-your-county/east/district-7/meigs-county A while back, a list of all current email addresses for ACS members was made available to these operators, but they may not be able to utilize regular email, depending on the scope of the exercise. The exercise will end at 12:00 PM. Everyone, take care, enjoy the exercise. Kenny Witt, McMinn ACS Coordinator