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VOLK FIELD, Wis. – Throughout the PATRIOT exercise there has been one common theme present that stresses the importance of the overall exercise. Cooperation between military and civilian agencies is critical to the success of any domestic operation. PATRIOT is an annual exercise held at Volk Field to test the National Guard’s capabilities and develop working relationships with first responders and government agencies. This year’s exercise was held from July 21-23
“This exercise allows us to work with agencies outside of our typical realm,” said Lt. Col. Chris Trossen, Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol duty officer and agency liaison officer. “Now that we’re working together we can find out what kind of products we can give them and what kind of support they can expect out of us.”
One of the key roles in the exercise was to provide support to the Incident Awareness and Assessment team. This included providing aerial imagery support to real-world players on the ground in order to identify potential hazards on the ground such as flooding, downed trees and debris.
“We have been tasked with photo reconnaissance, making sure utilities are undamaged and functioning, and ensuring roadways and drop zones are clear,” said Capt. Greg Patchel, Civil Air Patrol mission pilot.
PATRIOT has also allowed the agency to get some good exposure and practice for critical incidents, which adds value to the group as a whole.
“This exercise gives us a chance we don’t often have to flex muscles we don’t normally use,” said Trossen. “The good part about working with other agencies is that we don’t have an intrinsic ability to not only produce imagery but to assess and disseminate it out which they can provide. Having this opportunity has helped our prime crew with imagery and incident management.”
Proving worth is always very important, especially in a day and age of budget cuts.
PATRIOT provides the National Guard an opportunity to improve cooperation and relationships with its civilian, military and federal partners in preparation for emergencies and catastrophic events, and the relationship with the CAP is a prime example of the goal.
“This exercise allows us to showcase what we can do and where we fit in during a disaster relief mission,” said Patchel.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2015 15:19 |
| Story ID: | 171049 |
| Location: | VOLK FIELD, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 155 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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