On Saturday, May 2, 2026, members of ARES Region 1, District 5 met at Parker United Methodist Church in Parker, CO to learn how to setup and tear down the tent associated with the new Mobile Command Tent (MCT) trailer. It is a new asset acquired from the American Red Cross. The tent will be used for Field Day and other planned events or activations.
From the gallery of pictures below, you can see it took several of our members to wrangle the mammoth sized tent to get it erected. Walt AB0VZ served as our team leader and read the step-by-step instructions to the team from a binder filled with great instructions and illustrations. Eventually, the ground cloth was layed out, the double sided tent was standing on its own and configured to the mobile trailer.
The brilliant orange fixture probably can be seen by aircraft overhead heading to DIA. It’s a really bright orange tent. Several of our members are shown standing in the tent to demonstrate how tall and roomy it is inside. It stands tall, comfortably allowing a person with the height of 6’7″ (or taller) to stand in it. Several windows and a door on each end of the tent allow for easy access and cross ventilation. The tent can be securely attached to the mobile trailer via velcro connections or be standalone.
Onboard the trailer includes a generator, refrigerator and heat pump, allowing both AC and heat to be generated depending on the season of the year. Double walls and ceiling in the tent help to control the temperature in the tent. Generous storage onboard enable the tent and accessories to be easily stowed.
We also want to thank our sister ARES District Region 1 District 6 (R1D6) for donating their time and resources in the setup and tear down of the tent.
We also had on display our Mobile Communications Command (MCC) for all to see, walk through and learn what assets are onboard and how they work together to support the team during a deployment or activation. It’s quite impressive with two large wall-mounted monitors, several radios covering all bands and frequencies and several antennas.
We had perfect weather, sunny and mild for the event. Thanks to everyone for making this a great success. See you at Field Day 2026!!
