Photo By Capt. Timothy Lockwood | Lt. Col. Robert Miknis, Sgt. 1st Class Rose Ruiz, and Lt. Col. Dane Rodgers, all...... read more read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The Wyoming National Guard has a new weapon in its arsenal for responding to state missions.
Earlier in the year, the 153rd Airlift Wing took possession of one of 20 military emergency operations centers, or MEOC. The MEOC is a mobile command and control asset that provides just about every resource a joint task force command unit might need when responding to support civilian authorities during disasters, security support or other state level missions.
While the MEOC is technically a Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VIII asset, the maintenance, operations and use of the MEOC resides with the Wyoming Air National Guard. The deployment of the MEOC resides with the Wyoming Military Department’s Joint Operation Center.
The 38-foot trailer weighs in at a hefty 22,000 pounds, mainly because of the all the equipment it carries to support a mission. It has full military and civilian communications suites that allow the MEOC to pretty much talk to anyone it wants. Those capabilities include WYOLink radio, UHF, VHF, and virtual teleconference connections, to name a few.
In addition, it comes with its own state-of-the-art weather system and 360-degree camera surveillance system that allows the commander to know what is going on outside as well as inside.
“The best part of this mobile unit is it is so easy to set-up and break-down,” said Senior Master Sgt. Ingvar Ingvarsson, the MEOC manager. “As long as we have a good place to park it, we can get in, expand the sides and get to work.”
The MEOC can accommodate up to 11 personnel working at one time, each with their own computing and phone stations. That means a full JTF command unit has all the space and resources it needs to carry out a mission, and can be in close proximity to one another for when a brainstorming session is needed.
“When you are responding to a state mission, it is a high stress situation. The last thing you want to have to worry about is where you are going to work, adding to that stress,” Ingvarsson said. “We don’t have to waste a lot of time figuring out how or what or where to set-up. We can just start helping out.”
And it’s a self-sufficient resource, as well. The MEOC can run up to four or five standard work days on the fuel it carries. It has space for crew rest and provides some of the simple luxuries for the team as well like a fridge, microwave and coffeemaker.
Wyoming’s Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Luke Reiner, said the MEOC is that little extra boost that makes the Wyoming National Guard response teams better.
“We are responding more and more to state mission requests to support civilian authorities. Whether it’s a forest fire or flood or something else, the MEOC provides us with a quick strike command center so we can hit the ground running,” Reiner said. “Incident commanders look to us to show up ready to help them in their time of need and this mobile resource improves our ability to do that.”
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2014 17:12 |
| Story ID: | 135446 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WY, US |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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