After-Action Reports: Learning from Training Exercises

You already know the drill. Your agency runs an emergency preparedness exercise—maybe a wildfire simulation, a school lockdown drill, or a multi-agency active shooter scenario. The event ends, everyone packs up, and a few people nod, saying, "That went pretty well." Then, the next call comes in, and the cycle repeats. But without pausing to reflect, that training loses value. That's where after-action reports come in.

After-action reports (AARs) give you the space to capture what worked, what didn't, and what needs to change. They help you make training count—not just as a checkbox but as a fundamental driver of preparedness and accountability.

What an AAR Does

An after-action report is not just paperwork. It's a structured way to assess a drill or incident, gather feedback, and make operational changes. For PIOs, it's a way to evaluate your role in the larger system. Did your messaging reach the public fast enough? Was there confusion between agencies? Were media inquiries handled consistently?

Good AARs:

• Describe what happened.

• Identify strengths and gaps.

• Recommend changes.

• Assign responsibility for follow-up.

This process improves the next drill. And over time, it improves real-world outcomes.

Why PIOs Need to Be at the Table

Too often, PIOs are left out of the formal AAR process—or looped in late. That's a mistake. Communication failures are common in emergencies, and they're usually not technical. They're procedural. It will include mixed messages, slow response times, and inconsistent media coordination. You can only fix those by acknowledging them.

As a PIO, you should push to participate in every AAR. Your role is public-facing. If your agency stumbled during a drill, chances are the public noticed. The AAR is where you correct that.

And if you ran the PIO side of a training exercise, you should be writing your mini-AAR. Keep it short, but document the timeline, the messaging plan, what worked, and where your team struggled. Please share it with the command staff. Show that you're taking communications as seriously as operations.

What AARs Reveal

AARs surface issues that you often can't see in the moment. During live training, you manage outputs—posting alerts, fielding media calls, and coordinating with partner agencies. Afterward, the AAR lets you step back.

Common communication gaps that AAR reveals:

• Delays in message approval.

• Confusion over who is the lead PIO.

• Inconsistent terminology across jurisdictions.

• Public-facing information that doesn't match what's happening on the ground.

• Missed opportunities to use social media or geotargeted alerts.

The AAR is your chance to spell that out. And if you don't raise it, it won't get fixed.

AARs Are Only Useful if You're Honest

There's a real temptation to spin these reports—only to discuss successes and minimize issues. That defeats the point.

Be direct. Say what didn't work and why. Don't be afraid to name process breakdowns. That's not finger-pointing; it's how you improve your output.

If your joint information center took 90 minutes to stand up, say so. If the approved media holding area made it harder for reporters to get visuals, write that down. If your agency published four conflicting tweets before confirming facts, that's a problem. You need it in writing so it doesn't happen again.

John Pope, Public Information Officer for the City of Newport Beach, puts it plainly:

"If the AAR isn't a little uncomfortable to read, you didn't do it right. The point is to improve, not to pat yourself on the back."

Common Mistakes in AARs—and How to Avoid Them

1. Waiting too long.
   If you wait weeks to start your AAR, people forget the details. Run hotwashes—the informal post-exercise debriefs—immediately, and start the formal report within a few days.

2. Skipping stakeholders.
   Pull input from across the agency. Talk to dispatch, command, field ops, and comms. You'll miss key details if you only gather feedback from command staff.

3. Ignoring the public.
   If the public saw your drill or got its messaging, you must account for their perspective. Look at engagement metrics. Review call logs and social comments. If they were confused, your messaging didn't work.

4. Repeating vague phrases.
   Avoid lazy language like "communications were delayed" or "coordination was difficult." Be explicit in what happened. Be specific.

5. Never following up.
   An AAR without follow-up is just a file on a shared drive. Someone needs to own the next steps. Assign the fix. Set a deadline.

AARs Can Also Protect You

Good documentation isn't just about learning—it's also about showing your work. If training goes wrong or a real incident leads to scrutiny, your AAR proves you took action to address it.

It also shows that your agency takes preparedness seriously. And in a joint environment, it signals to partner agencies that you're a reliable collaborator.

As Lisa Rodriguez-Presley, Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Secret Service said in a recent interview:

"AARs give us a paper trail. When someone asks, 'What did you learn from this?' we don't have to guess. We can point to what we changed."

Trends in 2024–2025

More agencies are integrating AARs into digital platforms. Shared dashboards, automated templates, and cloud-based collaboration tools make reporting faster and easier.

There's also a growing push to publicize AARs—especially for drills funded through federal or state grants. That brings more scrutiny, but it also reinforces accountability.

In 2024, FEMA introduced updated AAR guidance as part of its Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP) cycle. The new framework encourages tighter timelines and clearer links between AAR findings and future exercises. Expect more grant reviewers to ask how your last AAR shaped your next training.

Also, the rise of AI tools means some agencies are starting to use machine transcription of hotwashes or incident audio to generate faster, data-backed AARs. That won't replace human analysis, but it can help surface patterns.

What a Good AAR Looks Like (For PIOs)

You don't need a 40-page document to make an AAR useful. For PIOs, a solid AAR might include:

• A short narrative summary of the training

• What comms assets were used (press releases, social posts, alerts)

• Timing of public notification

• Media interactions and what was covered

• Feedback from internal and external partners

• Mistakes, delays, or friction points

• What to keep doing

• What to stop doing

• Three specific changes for next time

That's enough. If your agency has a larger format, adapt it. But don't wait for the perfect template. Start writing.

Don't Just File It—Use It

The best AARs don't sit in a binder. They inform policy, update checklists, drive training scenarios, and guide messaging. Use them to revise your crisis communications plan. Use them to update your JIC setup flow. Use them to brief your leadership.

If you're doing monthly PIO drills or quarterly media response exercises, pull your AAR findings into each one. Re-test the problems you flagged. Continue your work until you see improvement.

Final Thoughts

After-action reports aren't sexy and won't get you a headline. But they're one of the most effective tools to improve emergency communications.

If you skip them, you're repeating mistakes. If you do them poorly, you're wasting time. But if you commit to doing them well—and using what they tell you—you'll run tighter, faster, more coordinated communications when it counts.

The next time your agency runs a drill, ask one question before it ends:

What are we doing with the AAR?
If there's no answer, speak up. Your future self—and your community—will thank you.