How a drill runs
A drill moves through four phases. Knowing which phase you are in explains most of what you can and cannot do at any moment.
The four phases#
1. Lobby. The session exists, people are joining, and the clock has not started. The instructor makes unit assignments and can run a ready check. Microphones are open: everyone can talk to everyone, normally, like standing in the bay before a run. Nobody sees the scene yet.
2. Dispatch. The instructor starts the clock. The dispatcher reads the units, the address, and the time-out. Open microphones close and the radio becomes push-to-talk, one transmitter at a time. Members assigned to units are now responding.
3. On scene. Each unit arrives at its own rolled time (the instructor can also bring a unit in early by clicking its countdown chip). When a member's unit arrives, the scene appears for them and they can walk the views, use the radio, place apparatus, and enter the structure if their assignment allows it. The incident runs until the instructor ends it.
4. Review. The instructor ends the session. It is sealed, no further actions are recorded, and everyone moves to the after-action review together.
Drills nobody ends#
Ending a drill is the instructor's call, and pressing End session is how it should happen. But drills do not always end tidily: the crew leaves for the debrief, a tab closes, a phone dies. So a drill that everybody has left closes itself.
| Closes after | |
|---|---|
| A drill that started | An hour with nobody in it |
| A session whose clock never started | A day with nobody in it |
The two are different on purpose. A drill in progress does not sit deserted for an hour: a dropped connection comes back on its own within seconds, and someone stepping away rejoins in minutes, so an hour of nobody at all means it is over. A session that never started is usually a code handed out for a drill later in the day, and closing that early would leave the crew arriving to a code that no longer works, so it is given far longer.
Anyone in the drill keeps it open, whatever the clock says. Nobody is ever disconnected by this.
A drill closed this way is sealed exactly as if it had been ended by hand: it leaves Happening now, moves to After-Action Review, and its record shows it closed for inactivity rather than by a person, so a debrief does not read as though somebody pressed the button.
Roles#
Instructor. Creates the session, loads the scenario, assigns crews, starts and ends the clock, and controls conditions during the drill. Sees everything at all times, including interiors, and can move to any view. Instructors are exempt from the blind rules because they are running the exercise, not participating in it.
Incident commander. A participant the instructor designates. Runs the command board: declares strategy, assigns companies, and receives CAN reports. The IC is deliberately restricted: no interior views, ever. Command works from outside on reported information.
Company member. A participant assigned to a responding unit. Responds, arrives, works the assignment, reports conditions. Sees what their position allows and nothing more.
Observer. A participant with no unit assigned. Sees the scene from the moment the drill starts rather than waiting for an arrival, and can walk exterior views. Observers do not enter interiors. Use this for evaluators, trainees watching, or anyone who should follow along without occupying a seat.
What each role sees#
| Instructor | IC | Company | Observer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scene before the clock starts | Yes | No | No | No |
| Scene while responding | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Exterior views on scene | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Interior views | Yes | Never | With an interior assignment, after arrival | No |
| Radio traffic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CAN reports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Radio traffic and CAN reports reach everyone, because they are the communication the exercise is about. The visual restrictions are what create the need to communicate.
Where things are on screen#
The drill screen has three parts:
- Header: session name, join code, exercise clock, instructor controls (ready check before the start, start and pause, end session), connection state, and Leave.
- Center: the view tabs and the scene itself. Below the scene, instructors get quick actions.
- Right panel: tabbed. Events is the running feed and Board is the command board. Instructors also get Injects and Eval. Below the panel are the CAN report control and the radio. Who is standing where shows on the view tabs themselves.