Photo By Robert W. Mitchell | Army Staff Sgt. Steven Kemp, 9th Civil Support Team, California National Guard,...... read more read more
WASHINGTON, DC (Feb. 25, 2016) -- More than 40 military and civilian leaders gathered at the District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG) Joint Task Force Headquarters to discuss emergency response efforts, praise the work of military personnel and witness the latest in first responder technology here.
The event came at the close of Sovereign Guardian 2016 (SG16), a five-day exercise held in the District, hosted by the DCNG, to gauge the readiness of federal and local first responder efforts in the event of a crisis, Feb. 22-26.
“The exercise was to test our ability to respond in a multi-dimensional environment,” Army Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, commanding general of the DCNG, told meeting attendees.
Schwartz thanked all who participated in SG16. He specifically expressed his gratitude for the contributions of the National Guard from Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia during the exercise.
At the podium, Air Force Col. Dan Caine, DCNG director of operations and training, praised the work of the Guardsmen who took part in the exercise.
“Our Soldiers and Airmen are nothing short of extraordinary. They make it happen every time, in tough challenging environments,” he said of the more than 600 Soldiers and Airmen (active duty, traditional and technician) who participated in the exercise.
Caine emphasized the vital role that emergency response leaders play in a catastrophic event.
“Even at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the fire chief is the man in charge [of the scene],” he said.
The purpose of SG16 is to strengthen interagency partnerships between National Capital Region agencies and improve interoperability in response to all-hazard emergencies. SG16 will test the National Guard’s, D.C. Government and Federal Agencies’ abilities to respond to a simulated, mass casualty, chemical attack.
SG16 was hosted by the DCNG’s 33rd Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team (WMD-CST). They are responsible for organizing and coordinating all of the National Guards’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) enterprise forces operating in the District.
Army Maj. Drew Smith, 33rd Civil Support Team (CST) commander, applauded the teamwork during SG16.
Also participating are the Virginia and West Virginia National Guards’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, High Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) and the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Homeland Response Force (HRF). Additional partnerships include the Metropolitan Police Department, Fire Emergency Medical Service, and the National Capital Wing Civil Air Patrol.
“The biggest thing with this whole event is all of the partnerships with our surrounding states. The National Guard does an excellent job of reaching out to surrounding states and supporting each other,” Smith said.
And reaching out to other states is beneficial when additional resources are needed rapidly, according to Smith.
“The advantage of this type of exercise is that it brought out people already familiar with our district. People who understand that this is our home and that they are here to support us. If we strengthen these partnerships now, then, when something does occur, we know these people are going to be there responding,” he said.
The forum organizer, Lt. Col. Jonathan Ebbert, WMD-CST Program Office branch chief, National Guard Bureau, demonstrated a computer-based personnel monitoring system that gives emergency response leaders a way to track and communicate with their first responders in the field. His used multiple screens with digital maps to show how the system works.
One Army colonel at the brief said tools like this system are advantageous in helping first responders get to the scene quickly with some prior knowledge about what’s going on there.
“Saving time, saves lives,” he said.
An Air Force colonel, who had been one of the first responders on the scene during the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013, made a similar observation. He said this technology is vital to the emergency response effort because it better equips responders with knowledge and details about the crisis prior to arriving on the scene.
The event ended with a trip to the Armed Forces Retirement Home located on the campus of President Lincoln’s Cottage. Attendees there had the opportunity to observe remote-controlled robots equipped with tracks and an array of gadgets (mechanical arms, wireless cameras, sensors, etc.) used in the course of detecting environmental hazards like radiation in a given area.
| Date Taken: | 02.25.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2016 09:55 |
| Story ID: | 191098 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 302 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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