PRIMARY, ALTERNATE, CONTINGENCY AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION PLANS

BY BRIAN M. MORRIS

U.S. soldiers talk on their radios during military operations in Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border, where staying connected can be a matter of life and death.

My family communications plan is based on the premise that if there’s an emergency situation that warrants staying put in a safe place, I need to be able to get in contact with my children and their significant others. My kids reside in more-populated areas than my wife and I, and our homestead in the country is where everyone will come in case of emergency.

It’s our job to relay the situation to them to so they can get to our homestead as quickly as possible. There are other times when either my wife or I are away from, or roaming around, the property, and we need to be able to communicate with one another during times of emergency.

Below is an idea of what my family PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) plan looks like. Remember: Communications plans should be uniquely tailored to your family and based on the comms gear that you personally either have or have access to. All phone numbers, e-mail addresses, radio handles or call signs, etc., must be shared with everyone in the group when the plan is distributed.