Joint UAS Exercise After-Action Review Template

Begin with the exercise name, date, location, participating organizations, scenario, authority, exercise type, safety structure, UAS resources, communications plan, simulated or real systems used, and the objectives approved before conduct. Identify which events and data were exercise-only so the record cannot be mistaken for an actual incident.

List evaluators and the evidence available to them: observation notes, dispatch timestamps, radio or message logs, viewer status, flight logs, product delivery times, participant feedback, and controller injects. Keep protected credentials, operational access details, and unnecessary personal information out of the general after-action document.

Review the full sequence: request and approval, alerting, pilot acknowledgment, dispatch information, arrival and check-in, incident integration, airspace and weather decision, launch setup, tasking, communications, remote-viewer access, product transfer, reassignment, demobilization, and reporting.

For each objective, state the expected behavior, what occurred, the evidence supporting the observation, the operational effect, and whether the issue belongs to policy, training, staffing, equipment, software, connectivity, security, documentation, or coordination. Avoid personal blame; describe the system behavior precisely enough to correct it.

Record strengths that should be sustained, not just deficiencies. Examples may include a clear assignment, disciplined communications, useful map annotations, a smooth viewer handoff, correct denial of unauthorized access, rapid identification of an unobserved area, or a complete data-transfer record.

Improvement items should explain the consequence. “Video froze” is incomplete. A stronger observation states when the stall occurred, which connection and profile were in use, whether the player recovered, how far playback fell behind, what communication fallback was used, and how the interruption affected the objective.

Each accepted corrective action needs one responsible organization or position, a measurable completion condition, a target date, dependencies, and a verification method. Separate immediate configuration changes from policy decisions, training needs, procurement, legal review, or multi-agency agreements.

Schedule a follow-up check. The final status should show whether the action was completed, changed, deferred with a reason, or carried into the next exercise. An improvement plan that is filed without ownership and follow-through does not improve readiness.