Photo By Airman 1st Class Gerald Ligeralde | JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jez Williams, 1st...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – Joint Base Langley-Eustis takes hurricane readiness seriously. Being geographically separated by approximately 17 miles, Fort Eustis and Langley Air Force Base work together in a joint effort to ensure that Airmen, Soldiers and their families are safe and secure during every hurricane season.
September is known as National Preparedness Month. JBLE stays proactive leading up to this time of year to ensure that both sides of the installation are well prepared and ready for any situation, including a hurricane.
“Every year before Hurricane season, we review a preseason preparedness checklist,” said Dan Wyrick, Fort Eustis 633d Civil Engineer Squadron, lead emergency manager. “That checklist involves steps, like reviewing our manning, making sure any critical supplies that we have expended over the previous year are replenished, and reminding all of our mission partners and all of our stakeholders to do the same thing.”
The checklist is just one component to hurricane preparedness. Proper training and exercises are another component to overall readiness.
“We ensure that all personnel receive refresher training prior to the onset of hurricane season,” said Technical Sgt. Louis Todd, 1st Operations Support Squadron readiness and training non-commissioned officer in charge. “We do quarterly continuation training, flight training meetings, and recertification processes. Additionally, we update our distribution list to ensure that leadership changes in the JBLE community are informed and can make the best decisions possible.”
Communication is the key factor when it comes to hurricane readiness across the installation. Both Langley AFB and Fort Eustis strive to constantly communicate with each other to determine specific weather patterns indicating a possible hurricane.
“One of the biggest challenges faced during hurricane season is communication,” said Todd. “Ensuring that all base leaders are receiving notifications as people move in and out of duty positions can be difficult, when people don’t respond or give feedback it presents a significant challenge.”
Communication can be challenging during natural disasters, which is why JBLE relies on its Emergency Operations Center as the central hub for command and control. The EOC is crucial for managing the flow of information and coordinating resources and personnel necessary to respond effectively. This centralized approach ensures that during emergencies, information is directed efficiently, and the right resources are deployed to the areas in need.
“During an actual event, all of the emergency managers from the surrounding localities will get on a conference call with the state emergency manager, and we’ll bring in the National Weather Service for collaboration,” said Wyrick. “Our goal is to track resources, track mission essential functions related to storm preparation, and to facilitate our storm response and recovery.”
With hurricane season underway, it’s paramount communication is clear, and resources are allocated correctly. Both 1st OSS and 633 CES play a critical role in providing rapid and quality information to base leaders and planners to execute and put in place the best plan for the JBLE community during hurricane response efforts.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2024 22:38 |
| Story ID: | 481139 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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