Radio Traffic Analysis During Emergencies

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A Structured, Repeatable Process for Situational Awareness This article references parts of the story in my fiction books, The Meadow Protocol and book 2, After The Brush, part of The Continuity Chronicles series. This particular process is used in book 3, chapter 7 "The Shape of the Noise." Available in my store for signed paperback and hard copies and also from Amazon to include Kindle and Audible. During disasters, infrastructure failures, and continuity events, radio communications often outlast centralized digital systems. When that happens, radio traffic itself becomes a source of operational intelligence—not intelligence in the espionage sense, but situational awareness derived from openly transmitted information. This article documents the formal process used to analyze radio traffic during emergencies, grounded in emergency management practice, military signal doctrine, and communications unit procedures. It is written for planners, communicators, and preparedness professionals—not hobbyists—and avoids speculation or unsupported inference. Purpose of Radio Traffic Analysis Radio traffic analysis answers five critical questions: What systems are still functioning? Who is coordinating operations? What resources are constrained or failing? Where is operational stress increasing or decreasing? Is the situation stabilizing, deteriorating, or fragmenting? This process does not rely on message interception, encryption defeat, or protected communications....