Citywide Deployment Exercise

Twice each year, Portland NET teams participate in a Citywide Deployment Exercise (CDE). This helps us improve our skills, make important revisions to our Operations & Communications Plans, and inform our training plans.

The last exercise was held on Saturday, May 31, 2025 from 1 to 4 pm. We expect to hold the next one in October or November 2025.

Donate to Support the Citywide Deployment Exercises

These exercises were created and orchestrated by NET volunteers. If you have questions or suggestions, or if you’d like to be part of the next planning committee, email NETDeploymentExercise@gmail.com.

Preparation

Recordings of NET Training Sessions Relevant to Deployment Exercise

• Light Search and Rescue Operations — New in February 2024
• The Roles of the ITL, Scribe, FRS Radio Lead and Zoom Tips
• The Role of the Incident Team Leader
• FRS Radio Lead, Message Handling and A Radio Play In One Act
• Integrating FRS/GMRS and Amateur Radio Communications
• Management of SUVs (Spontaneous Untrained Volunteers)
• Deployment Shift Management
• Personnel Accountability
• Triage Site Management
• Using NET ICS Forms in the Field
• Setting Up a Medical Treatment Area
• [1]

Forms:

• Video: Using Form 1B — Individual Situation Report *
• Video: Using Form 1C — Team Situation Report *
• Written Instructions on above Forms
• Link to all approved NET Forms

* These videos refer to the forms as experimental because they were when the videos were created in 2019. They were approved by PBEM during the summer of 2022.

Skill Refreshers

Read these skill refreshers before the exercise.

• ICS Structure Refresher
• ICS Forms Refresher
• Volunteer Management Refresher

Cheat Sheets

Sometimes our brains get a little mushy when we’re presented with a high-stress situation (like a major earthquake). Keep these handy cheat sheets in your pack to help you remember your training!

• Amateur Radio Voice Procedure Cheat
• FRS Radio Voice Procedure Cheat
• ICS Forms Cheat
• ICS Staffing Recommendations Cheat
• Mission Sequence Cheat
• Phonetic Alphabet Cheat
• Triage Cheat
• Patient Assessment Cheat
• CERT Scott’s Cheats

Other Resources

Here are some other tools your team may find useful in planning and preparing for the exercise:

• PBEM GIS Mapping Tool – This interactive map shows neighborhood boundaries, schools, hospitals, URM buildings, and hazards and may be useful for planning training scenarios. You’ll need to zoom in to see details. 

If you have additional deployment resources to share, email them to netdeploymentexercise@gmail.com

Previous Exercises

After Action Reports

• May 15, 2021
• November 7, 2021
• May 7, 2022
• October 22, 2022
• May 13, 2023
• October 8, 2023
• April 27, 2024
• October 30, 2024
• May 31, 2025

Exercise Materials

These materials are intended for Exercise Coordinators and Amateur Radio Operators who are planning the exercise for their team.

• Forms (PBEM Wiki page describing and providing links to all approved forms.)
• ITL Instructions (Instructions for Incident Team Leaders)

• Exercise Coordinators Handbook (Instructions for Proctors)
• Global Exercise Materials (Google folder containing training refreshers, email templates, forms, and more)
• Exercise Coordinator Guidebook (Tips and timeline to help Exercise Coordinators prepare for the exercise)
• NET Deployment Best Practices (Tips from many NET teams covering all aspects of deployment, including command post setup, resource tracking, volunteer management, radio communications and more!)
• Radio Operator Materials (ARO exercise instructions, training presentation slides, etc.)

Photos

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  Oct 2023
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  May 2023
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  Oct 2019
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  Apr 2019
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  Oct 2018
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  Apr 2018
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  Oct 2017
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  Jul 2017