Photo By Anthony Housey | Teams from the Minnesota National Guard Joint Operations Center (JOC) conducted an...... read more read more
April 11, 2025 (CAMP RIPLEY, Minn.) – Teams from the Minnesota National Guard Joint Operations Center (JOC) conducted an exercise April 8-10, 2025 at the Camp Ripley Training Center as part of the U.S. Army NORTHCOM Joint Operations Center Training Course (JOC-TC).
The capstone scenario of the exercise challenged participants to demonstrate lessons learned from the previous day’s instruction and apply those principles to real-world situations in a demanding, complex and fast-paced environment.
“The goal and benefit of this exercise is to develop a better understanding throughout the JOC staff regarding their roles while networking with other partners,” said Army Col. Daniel O’Meara, Domestic Operations Chief with the Minnesota National Guard Joint Operations Center. “This allowed us to evaluate capabilities and limitations while operating in real-world domestic operations scenario.”
The JOC’s primary purpose is to provide continuous situational awareness to the office of the State Adjutant General during a domestic operation by monitoring, collecting and analyzing data to develop and update a common operational picture, allowing leaders to make informed decisions. The team in the JOC facilitates communication, planning, and coordination between different branches of the military, or often in the case of the National Guard, with civilian agencies and partners during joint operations within the state. During emergencies, the National Guard works in partnership with civilian authorities to aid with situations like physical security, logistical support and search and rescue if needed.
“There are different procedural steps and languages between the different agencies,” stated O’Meara. “The exercise enabled us to work through challenges and determine how we could operate together in various scenarios.”
The primary part of the exercise kicked off with a simulated shift change that involved the previous team monitoring a developing severe winter storm. This storm eventually produced multiple explained and unexplained power outages, road closures as well as hazards that would impact the civilian population. As the exercise continued, the scenario escalated with several counties declaring a state of emergency on top of a possible domestic terrorist threat.
“Our goal is always to come in and have the state pick up one or two critical things they didn’t have before, and we achieved that,” said Army Maj. Russel Bouillion, NORTHCOM Mobile Training Team Chief. “The biggest element is if the Minnesota National Guard found this beneficial and can use this training to improve upon their procedures. That is the success of our mission.”
The training, which was put on through the team from NORTHCOM, incorporated JOC specific operations and policies gathered from all 54 states and territories to educate using standard doctrine. The exercise tested specific processes found in an operations center responding to the scenario within Minnesota. For the Minnesota JOC, response to annual natural challenges such as winter weather or floods is a common practice, but the addition of secondary hazards tested communications, logistics and ready response across a wide area of the state.
“We follow doctrine, but every state faces unique challenges and adjusts necessary procedures in order to fit their needs,” said Bouillion.
The event culminated with a full briefing to the exercise commander, simulating an update brief to The Adjutant General or other state leaders. The collection of data and actions taken to best respond to the various situations was briefed by the section leaders and included information about personnel, intelligence, operations and logistics. The teams within the JOC demonstrated cross communication, gathered critical information, and presented what was achieved during the scenario with supporting data.
“NORTHCOM’s exercise was an excellent opportunity to help both seasoned and new personnel with the JOC understand our different roles and how to conduct domestic operations in the state of Minnesota,” concluded O’Meara.
| Date Taken: | 04.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.11.2025 18:29 |
| Story ID: | 495175 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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