Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka | Despite not being a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers, the...... read more read more
By Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka
Joint Force Headquarters
CARSON CITY -- Despite not being a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers, the IAEM awarded Nevada Army Guard Lt. Col. Brett Compston its 2020 Regional Citation on Nov. 18 for his work as the incident commander for the state of Nevada’s coronavirus health response and initial recovery between May and September.
Only six emergency managers in the nation were awarded regional citations this year, according to the organization that promotes the profession of emergency management.
During the period of time this year when the Nevada Office of the Military provided comprehensive oversight of the COVID-19 health response of all state agencies, Compson coordinated resources and implemented processes to support the entire state’s COVID-19 health response.
“He stepped in and displayed exemplary leadership during a situation – a pandemic – that very few emergency managers have received training in,” said IAEM Region 9 president Yuri Graves. IAEM Region 9 includes Nevada, Arizona, California, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
During Compston’s stint as incident manager, Nevada Guard Soldiers and Airmen recorded some staggering statistics during the Guard’s mission to assist the state during the pandemic. Since the mission began in April, Guardsmen had distributed more than 2 million K/N95 masks, 3.5 million surgical masks, 8.3 million pairs of gloves and 1.1 million Tyvek shields. They also distributed about 2.9 million meals and administered more than 1.1 million coronavirus tests.
At the height of the mission, about 1,100 Airmen and Soldiers out of a total of 4,500 Guardsmen were on coronavirus health response duty.
“We all learned on the fly during the improbable situations the pandemic created this year,” said Compston, 46, of Reno. “At times, the crisis response could be likened to building a plane while in flight – we were experiencing and living through a period of time no one would expect.”
Graves, an emergency management specialist for the Department of Energy in North Las Vegas, grew increasingly impressed with Compston’s emergency management skills during conference call meetings last spring that included all of the state agencies involved in Nevada coronavirus health response. Graves believed Compston displayed exemplary leadership during the meetings and nominated Compston for the Regional Citation.
“The counties in Nevada are very different, yet Lt. Col. Compston was able to get all of government organizations to work together with a common vision,” Graves said. “He’s a very effective communicator and exceled in including everyone in the response.
“He went above and beyond in the field of emergence management. He’s very deserving of this citation.”
Compston said that he hopes to eventually become an IEAM Certified Emergency Manager when the pandemic subsides.
“I think he’ll have a great shot at becoming certified,” Graves said.
With COVID-19 Response Director Caleb Cage and Division of Emergency Management Chief David Fogerson now in place, Compston has returned to his usual job as the Nevada Guard’s Director of Joint and Domestic Operations and the Commander of the 421st Regiment.
| Date Taken: | 12.08.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.08.2020 15:41 |
| Story ID: | 384489 |
| Location: | RENO, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 205 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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