Photo By Master Sgt. Daniel Griego | In this image, soldiers of JTF-136 prepare for their Homeland Response Force mission...... read more read more
MUSKOGEE, Okla. - Next week, the Texas National Guard's Joint Task Force 136 (Maneuver Enhancement Brigade) will certify its Homeland Response Force mission at Camp Gruber, Okla., as part of the Department of Defense's consequence management enterprise. The exercise, validated by the Joint Interagency Training and Education Center, will test and evaluate the response capabilities of the unit in response to a simulated mass-casualty incident.
"We've been training for over a year, gearing up for this new one," said Maj. Ingrid Yauger, the logistics officer for JTF-136 (MEB). "We've got an integration of a whole new team, so I think it'll be really good to see the whole culmination of all of our events come together for our evaluation."
The organization, also called the Minuteman Brigade and headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, conducted four different full-scale exercises in 2013 in preparation for this month's external evaluation. Each scenario placed the brigade in a real-time simulation wherein they coordinated life-saving efforts alongside civil agencies such as fire departments, police stations, and emergency medical services. In each incident, the role of the National Guard is to support and provide enhanced capabilities to the on-site civilians, never to take charge.
"We'll be leaving here with success from all the training that we've always prepared for," said Sgt. Andy Telfort, a personnel NCO with the Minuteman Brigade. "We're always prepared for any natural disaster."
The validation is taking place in Oklahoma to demonstrate the mobility of the Guardsmen and the range of their total coverage, which includes all of FEMA Region VI: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Texas Guard forces will total 826 personnel engaging multiple sites throughout Camp Gruber, running 24-hour operations during the primary exercise days.
"We're projected to cook over 7,000 to 8,000 meals in the next week or so," said Sgt. 1st Class Russ Little, the senior food service operations NCO for the Minuteman Brigade.
At the heart of this exercise is the mission to save lives when disaster strikes. The value of this Guard asset is its capability to conduct search and extraction, medical triage, and decontamination procedures, all within an environment that may be compromised by a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive contaminant.
"So when we get that phone call, no matter when it is or where it is, we know that we are able to go out there and assist our civilian counterparts," said Yauger.
The early stages of the week's validation will include practice scenarios that will feed into the major response incident, taking place March 6.
"All we do is train, so I do believe we're ready," said Talfort. "This will be a piece of cake for us."
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2014 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 121368 |
| Location: | MUSKOGEE, OK, US |
| Web Views: | 151 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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