COM-01 · Lesson 4 of 5

Building Your PACE Plan

Four steps from systems inventory to a tested, distributed plan

Step 1 — Map Your Communications Relationships

A PACE plan covers one communications relationship. Most families and groups need multiple plans because different relationships have different range requirements and different system stacks.

• Immediate household or team (same property or within a block) — simplex GMRS or FRS may serve all four tiers
• Neighborhood or block group (1–5 miles) — GMRS with some repeater capability; simplex Contingency; satellite Emergency
• Regional or county network (10–100 miles) — repeater Alternate essential; HF Contingency preferred
• Out-of-area family welfare check-in (100+ miles) — cell Primary; requires HF or satellite for any tier below Primary

Build a separate plan for each relationship type. Do not use one plan and assume it covers all your communications needs.

Step 2 — Write Specific Failure Triggers

A failure trigger is the specific, observable, pre-agreed condition that tells every member to move from one tier to the next. It must be specific (a measurable condition, not a vague state), observable (any member can evaluate it without calling anyone else), and time-bounded (includes a time window or a count).

Step 3 — Document and Distribute

A PACE plan that exists only in one person’s head is a single point of failure. Every family member or group member who may need to initiate or respond on any tier must have the plan in hand.

• Written on paper — not only digital storage, because devices fail when you need them
• Distributed to every member — go-bag, vehicle, and home copy
• Reviewed regularly — at every family or group meeting — not filed away between activations
• Updated after every test based on what actually worked

Integrating COMCON Into Your Failure Triggers

Your PACE failure triggers and your COMCON level are the same decision expressed two ways. When you write your triggers, consider mapping each tier transition to its COMCON equivalent — this gives your family or group a shared status vocabulary that works across all planning domains, not just communications.

• Trigger fires P → A = Declare COMCON 4 (Increased Vigilance) or COMCON 3 (Confirmed Degradation)
• Trigger fires A → C = Declare COMCON 2 (Reduced Capacity)
• Trigger fires C → E = Declare COMCON 1 (Total Collapse)

Similarly, your family or group’s PREP-CON level should influence how aggressively you pre-position for lower PACE tiers. At PREP-CON 3 (Incident Probable), your family or group should already be monitoring Alternate, testing equipment, and ensuring Emergency tier subscriptions are current — before any failure trigger fires.

Step 4 — Test Every Tier

Testing is not optional. It is part of the plan. A tier you have never used is a guess, not a tier.