Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army North, Task Force 51, soldiers arrive at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi,...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Carolyn Hawkins
318th PAOC
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - U.S. Army North's Task Force 51 from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, deployed to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi this week for Ardent Sentry 2012, a joint service training exercise to prepare them in the event that local communities need their support during a hurricane.
“TF-51 is U.S. Army North's deployable command post,” said Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gailes Jr., U.S. Army North, TF-51 commander. “We move forward, represent, command and control the title 10 forces that may respond to any domestic emergency. We collaborate, communicate, and cooperate with our state and federal partners in response to alleviate the suffering of the American people, save lives and restore our local communities after a disaster.”
The task force can be called upon to assist local and state agencies if they need the additional assets and help during a major disaster.
Lt. Col. Gregory Hill, the TF-51 chief of operations said, the assistance that we offer during a hurricane depends on what help is requested of us and that could be anywhere from medical aid to evacuation support.
This training team consists of the task force, joint enablers and augmentees. It is an important opportunity for those of all ranks and military occupational specialties to learn the skills they need to respond effectively in a catastrophic event.
Many personnel, who have valuable skills to bring to the table, are involved in this mission.
Spc. Laura F. Pabst, a geospatial engineer assigned to the 100th Engineer Company, 30th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., is one of the many participants in the hurricane exercise with a vital job.
“We're here to provide support for each branch of the mission, from the engineers to aviation,” Pabst said. “We work with a lot of different departments and agencies. We get data from them and we make maps depicting infrastructure and flood levels. We can make damage assessments.”
“We're ready and we're building to be better,” Gailes said. “But understand that if the disaster is on that large of a scale, there's a headquarters that is able to bring forces to alleviate that suffering and build a foundation for recovery.
“These are great Americans,” Gailes said about his forces. “We as the Department of Defense fight our nation's wars, but we're also here for our citizens and we greatly admire survivors of an incident. We want to do everything we can to sustain them and help them.”
For more information on the exercise being conducted in Corpus Christi, contact Don Manuszewski at 210-482-9303 or U.S. Army North Public Affairs at 210-221-0015 or visit the Army North public website at: www.arnorth.army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2012 14:06 |
| Story ID: | 87986 |
| Location: | CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 194 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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