Photo By Emily Mifsud | The Air Force Installation Mission Support Center’s Task Force Agile Mission Support...... read more read more
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TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, FLA – The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center’s Task Force Agile Mission Support team is gearing up to provide enhanced emergency response resources to Air and Space Force installations affected by natural disasters and other events.
TFAMS is the evolution of AFIMSC’s Initial Response team, stood up in 2020 to focus on providing civil engineering and security forces capabilities to assist in the recovery of installations affected by natural and manmade disasters.
TFAMS is a larger and more robust emergency response task force that integrates AFIMSC capabilities including base communications, chaplain corps, civil engineering, financial management, logistics readiness, operational acquisition, security forces and services. Ready to deploy to an installation at a moment’s notice, the team will work together to create a centralized emergency response plan for long-term recovery.
“Our collective knowledge and expertise allow us to gain situational awareness on the ground level and communicate with commanders to determine the needs of the installation in order to begin the recovery process,” said Col. Barry Nichols, division chief of AFIMSC Current Operations and TFAMs team lead.
The task force serves as a direct link between the installation and all AFIMSC components to provide commanders immediate support in the aftermath of a disaster. After assessing damage, the task force will relay information and recommendations back to AFIMSC leadership to secure necessary resources and funding to quickly and efficiently get the affected installation back in the fight.
Representatives from each capability met for a two-day workshop in June at the AFCEC Natural Disaster Recovery Division at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The team conducted tabletop exercises and learned about each capability’s respective roles and how to collectively create a well-rounded response plan.
Attendees met with NDR representatives to leverage their experience and expertise from their rebuild and recovery operations including flooding at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, Typhoon Mawar at Andersen AFB, Guam, and Hurricane Michael at Tyndall AFB.
“Working through the exercises together offered different perspectives that may not have been realized by another unit,” Nichols said. “By understanding what each capability brings to the table, we’re able to sequence, prioritize and bridge any gaps that could be overlooked.”
For example, base communications capability is responsible for providing the necessary information technology infrastructure for effective communication across an installation to include telephone switches, fiber optic and copper cables, handheld radios and backup power. While essential in everyday base operations, communication is especially crucial when it comes to emergency situations.
“No one thinks about communications going out until they’re down,” said Master Sgt. Russel Van Houten, Base Operating Support – Information Technology, or BOS-IT, portfolio integration manager. “Although we’re a smaller unit, we’re experienced with helping bases determine communications needs, securing funding and getting them back online. It translates nicely into emergency response.”
The chaplain corps also offers a fresh perspective to TFAMS. While other units are focusing on their special capabilities, chaplains can gather a great deal of overall situational awareness on the ground from those affected as well as recovery teams.
“We show up often on the worst day of people’s lives,” said Maj. James Taylor, staff chaplain in the AFIMSC Chaplain Corps Division. “Through our counseling we can decipher any needs that are not being met or if morale is suffering and relay it back to leadership to boost the overall situation.”
TFAMS is slated to be fully operational later this summer. The information gathered from the workshop will be applied into the concept of operations to have a standardized emergency response plan that can be packaged to allow the team to quickly respond to an installation.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2024 16:03 |
| Story ID: | 478591 |
| Location: | FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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