Photo By Jeff Hickman | Brig. Gen. Walter R. Ross, Director of Joint Staff, received the Course of Action...... read more read more
Subscribe
The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) Mobile Training Team (MTT) hosted a National Guard Bureau (NGB) Joint Staff Training Course (JSTC) from Feb. 1 to Feb. 5 at the State of Hawai‘i Department of Defense (HIDOD) facility on O‘ahu. A total of 33 students attended, with the majority from the Hawai‘i National Guard (HING) Joint Staff. Members from the 93rd Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear (CBRN) Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP), 93rd Civil Support Team (CST), Nebraska National Guard and United States Indo Pacific Command also joined the five-day course.
The course was overseen by Daniel Cameron and Maj. Jeffrey Rogers, J7-22 Mobile Training Team Chief and Instructor, National Resiliency Branch. JSTC instructors are fellow Guardsmen and government civilians from around the country along with contracted support from retired, Senior Leader Army and Air Guard who reside in Colorado Springs and work at Peterson Space Force Base. This NGB program is hosted by NORAD/NORTHCOM. HING Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Stephen F. Logan and Brig. Gen. Walter R. Ross, Director of Joint Staff, are both graduates of the Dual Status Commander Training Course at Peterson SFB.
“It [training] is not mandatory and it is updated on a regular basis,” Rogers said. “Things are constantly changing. Like all professions, there is turnover of key individuals and new members improve through training. The expectation is that the students, members of the Joint Staff, will immediately be prepared to respond in case of an incident or event where the National Guard is called to support.”
The students should leave the course with a greater understanding of doctrinal joint staff processes and the confidence to execute when called upon to support the citizens and communities of Hawai‘i.
“The goal is to build resilience within the staff,” Rogers said.
The course looks to enhance the planning, supporting and directing of missions specific to domestic operations unique to Hawai‘i, focusing on the initial steps of the Joint Planning Process (JPP) that includes Mission Analysis (MA) and Course of Action Development. Students analyzed likely catastrophic event(s) and developed plans and courses of action to support civilian leaders in response efforts. The benefits are greater awareness of the scope and scale that National Guard elements will be asked to provide to help their communities respond and recover. The course and the others provided enhance doctrinal knowledge, improve confidence in response planning and execution and build resilience within the staffs who are chosen to develop these plans.
Hawai‘i requests MTT support on a regular basis to work directly with the HING Joint Force Headquarters. Senior leaders determine the need for the Joint Staff to receive additional training and build resiliency within the staff. The training occurs throughout the country in all 54 states, territories and Washington D.C. when requested by the respective National Guard leadership. NGB teams conduct a total of 57 courses throughout the year and seven resident courses for senior leaders.
The Hawai‘i training, last held in 2023, was increased from a Phase I two-day course to a five-day Phase I and Phase II course to help expand the HING planning process. The training utilized the JPP and the HING All-Hazard Plan 2025 in order to prepare for a Category 2 hurricane hitting O‘ahu from the south. The end of both phases culminated in presentations to Brig. Gen. Ross, who critiqued the plans and offered additional recommendations and guidance.
“This course is an academic version to rebuild the foundation, get back to the basics and build that foundation for the staff,” said Lt. Col. Isaac A Floyd, HING J7 Director of Joint Training and Exercises. “The staff is predominantly new staff or members who haven’t been in this position. About two thirds are new, one third is seasoned. It gives the seasoned individuals practice but for the new folks, exposure and understanding of the academics by the book. They see the science and then the art of how we do things and that’s why these mobile training teams are important.”
The Hawai‘i National Guard has dealt with hurricanes, lava flows and wildfires in Hawai‘i recently and that brings some first-hand experience, compared to other states.
“We’ve had almost every disaster or some type of event since 2014 starting off with the Puna lava flows,” Floyd said. “From the 2018 lava flow, the floods, the landslides, 2019 was TMT [opposition to the Thirty Meter Telescope construction on Hawai‘i Island], 2020 was COVID, then 2023 was the [Maui] wildfires and then on top of that, all the hurricanes in between. We have a lot of repetitions, a lot of experience, and the good thing is, the lower tiers are the current echelons, and then the ones that are the leaders kind of come and go – it builds up. I’ve seen it in three different echelons from being the tactical on the ground, as the incident [commander] to being [part of] the task force and then now the Joint Staff. So, I got to see all three levels based on the last ten years.”
All personnel who attended the training had to complete a Joint Domestic Operations Course (JDOC), which was Computer-Based-Training from the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network Operations Center. After completing the course, they received a certificate of completion.
Sgt. Maila Julian of the 93rd CERFP attended the course for the first time and shared her experience about taking the MTT training.
“Seeing how the Joint Staff works in this class, I really learned a lot and hope that one day I get to be a part of the Joint Staff and be part of the bigger picture when it comes to planning,” Julian said.
“It’s a lot – especially coming from someone who is a lower enlisted – I don’t really get to see the bigger portion where all the staff comes together, planning things like this. I’m just a budget person, at the unit level, but when I came here, I got to see the J3 portion where it’s the operations and then the J1 where you have to process everybody that’s coming in and then there’s also the J4, the sustainment portion. So, it’s a lot to learn, but I feel like I get more out of it when you actually do the activity itself.”
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2025 15:24 |
| Story ID: | 491582 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Hawaii National Guard updates its emergency planning, readiness, by Ruben Duldulao, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Emergency Response training
