Military Officer - December 2008 - (Page 53) Q&A installations. We maintain a readiness picture of every unit, so we know what they have and how they might assist. We also know what can come from another state if an event’s impact grows. All of this activity occurs simultaneously in the first two to five hours. By then we’ll know if the incident is significant enough for any federal response. We will have begun to alert NORTHCOM units while calling the defense secretary to say, “It looks like we are going to be asked for bridging equipment” or whatever. In the middle of all this, the National Guard participates in a program called EMAC, or Emergency Management Assistance Compact, under which Guard units of other states can come to help their neighbor. So we monitor the FEMA response, the EMAC response, and the response of Guard elements in state. We watch and listen to decide G EN . V I CTO R “G ENE ” R E NUA RT J R. So your force from Fort Monroe arrives at an incident site. Whose command is it under? It’s in Title 10 status under my command to support the governor’s efforts. My guy or gal on the ground is that joint task force commander; the governor’s guy or gal is that adjutant general. They have direct coordination authority and work back and forth. It’s a relationship of supporting and supported elements. It’s not a relationship of command, and frankly, it doesn’t need to be. We know what our role is. What is the role then for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)? They enable FEMA to manage the event on the ground. FEMA, in effect, is the NORTHCOM of the DHS. FEMA and NORTHCOM are federal operational partners. The what capabilities fit best. When the governor says, “I need help,” and the president says, “I’m declaring a disaster area,” the gate opens to a flow of capability and funds. Would it be a governor who requests your chem-bio response team? Let’s use a nuclear event as an example. For something of that magnitude, before the governor ever picked up a phone, we would be starting to mobilize forces. There will then certainly be a request from the governor or a presidential declaration. My job is to be as close as I can to the event, so it’s only a matter of hours to be on the ground and productive. This all sounds like a number of administrative churns, but, in reality, these things would happen almost all simultaneously. HU RRI CAN E RES PONSE About one week before hurricanes Gustav and Ike made landfall in late August and early September, respectively, NORTHCOM was activated to provide DoD support to FEMA, state, and local response teams, according to Master Sgt. Anthony Hill, USAF, a NORTHCOM spokesperson. NORTHCOM’s support included: Hurricane Gustav I activating four Defense Coordinating Officers and Defense Coordinating Elements to work with federal, state, and local officials; I designating five military installations as FEMA National Logistics Staging Areas and two as base support installations by FEMA; and I evacuating 2,700 people on 26 flights. Hurricane Ike I designating two military installations as FEMA National Logistics Staging areas to distribute supplies NORTHCOM monitors the progress of hurricanes approaching the U.S. and works closely with federal and state agencies to prepare for response efforts. and equipment and four military installations as base support installations for logistical operations; I providing 21 small boats, 88 high-water trucks, and 42 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for search-andrescue operations; I conducting 27 search-and-rescue missions; and I taking 558 pictures of the damaged area within the first 24 hours of landfall with the U.S. Navy’s Global Hawk Maritime Demonstrator. PHOTO: COURTESY NASA DECEMBER 2008 MILITARY OFFICER 53
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