The military plans communications around PACE — Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency — so that when the easy way fails, everyone already knows the next way. Build a ladder for each way you need to reach people — by distance, by group, by purpose — then print it to a page and a wallet card. The whole plan lives on paper, not on the network it’s meant to outlast.
A zone is one way you need to reach people — a distance (“local, under 30 miles”), a group (“the neighborhood net”), or a purpose (“out-of-state contact”). Open a zone to build its PACE ladder: the Primary method you reach for first, then the Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency fallbacks for when each one fails.
Assign your people and places short callsigns and designators — so a location can go over the air without giving it away — in the Comms Roster, then use those designators in your ladders.
Print your PACE plan to a page for the binder and a card for every wallet, bag, and vehicle — then read the thinking behind it.
A communication plan that survives the grid.
The military plans communications as a ladder — Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency — so a lost channel never means lost contact.
A plan only works if everyone has it and has tried it — print copies and run a drill on each rung before you need it.
