Photo By Maj. Michael Sullivan | The Joint Task Force Santa Fe Tactical Operations Center was headquartered in a DRASH...... read more read more
Subscribe
SALINA, Kan. - More than 2,000 local, state and federal personnel trained at various locations throughout the state as part of Vigilant Guard 2014, hosted by the Kansas National Guard from Aug. 4-7, 2014.
Vigilant Guard is a large-scale, multi-state disaster response exercise sponsored by U.S. Northern Command and the National Guard Bureau that tests the capabilities of emergency response agencies at all levels of government, both military and civilian.
Joint Task Force Santa Fe, which was primarily comprised of service members from the Kansas National Guard’s 35th Infantry Division and the 190th Air Refueling Wing, managed Vigilant Guard’s military assets, which included hundreds of National Guard and Reserve service members from Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and a scattering of troops from other parts of the country. JTF Santa Fe helped coordinate disaster relief efforts in a variety of simulated scenarios including tornadoes, flooding and collapsed buildings.
According to Col. Russell Richardson, operations officer of JTF Sana Fe and the 35th Infantry Division, this is the first time a Joint Task Force has been set up in an “incident command and all-hazards environment” in the state of Kansas.
“This is truly a joint environment that goes across states,” said Richardson. “If there is an incident that occurs, we have emergency management compacts with our adjoining states and partners so that when something occurs and they need help, we respond to help them out when they have an incident. It works the same way with us. … It is a very good environment with this, so we build our relationships with these states and units.”
Richardson feels that Vigilant Guard is an ideal learning environment that allows the personnel involved to practice their skills so that Kansas National Guard is fully prepared when called upon to help when disaster really strikes.
“At the end of the day, that is really the whole purpose of this training,” said Richardson. “So when an actual tornado, flooding event or blizzard for some hazard that occurs, we can go out there and execute. That is why we do exercises like this. We prepare, we identify what works, we identify what we need to fix and then we train and we prepare again.”
Brig. Gen. Robert E. Windham Jr., dual status commander of JTF Santa Fe and the Kansas Army National Guard Land Component, called the exercise “a great leap forward,” and the joint work between emergency management, homeland security and the Kansas National Guard has gone beyond what was written down as mission plans on paper.
“If called upon (the division) can much more rapidly get to a state of being a Joint Task Force and do that competently and much more quickly. I think it has shaved off a great deal of time it will take for the division to hit the ground and be fully functioning,” said Windham.
Windham said he was pleased with the positive attention Vigilant Guard has received with the public, but publicity is not what the exercise is about. It is about the service members in the state and making sure the Kansas National Guard is ready to respond when the citizens of Kansas need them.
“This is not a commercial about the Kansas National Guard,” said Windham. “This is truly the Guard doing what the Guard does best. It is really relevant. We do it right here and you do it for your neighbors. I look at young Soldiers and Airmen … it’s been really hot and humid and they have been at some of these venues all day working hard, and they are going to talk about this. When they go back to work, they have something to brag about. Other young people will hear that message, and they will want some of that action.”
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.08.2014 19:14 |
| Story ID: | 138826 |
| Location: | SALINA, KANSAS, US |
| Hometown: | COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US |
| Hometown: | LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS, US |
| Hometown: | SALINA, KANSAS, US |
| Hometown: | TOPEKA, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Joint Task Force Santa Fe coordinates successful military efforts during Vigilant Guard, by MAJ Michael Sullivan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
