Documenting history

Courtesy Photo | Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Mickey Petersen, the operations non-commissioned officer-in-charge of Joint Task Force Guantanamo's Commissions Support Group, places security barriers at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Feb. 26. Petersen is a master-at-arms in the Navy Reserve and a civilian law enforcement officer, who is also working to compile historical information from Hurricane Katrina into a report for future disaster planning purposes at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released. The JTF conducts intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for the protection of detainees and personnel working in JTF Guantanamo facilities and in support of the Global War on Terror. JTF Guantanamo provides support to the Office of Military Commissions, to law enforcement and to war crimes investigations. The JTF conducts planning for and, on order, responds to Caribbean mass migration operations.  

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

06.06.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Blair Heusdens 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — A Joint Task Force Guantanamo service member is helping to record a small piece of history by putting together information on the military's response to Hurricane Katrina, the deadly hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Mickey Petersen, the operations non-commissioned officer for the Commissions Support Group, has been working with the 1st Army History Group to compile lessons learned from the storm for use in future disaster planning.

"They just send me a million documents — every piece of paperwork the units who were involved in the response generated — and I go through and break it down piece by piece," Petersen said.

Petersen was chosen to participate in this project based on research work he did for the emergency and disaster response degree he is pursuing through the American Military University. Petersen is a master-at-arms in the Navy Reserve and a police officer in the civilian world with more than 12-years experience in law enforcement.

As a local law enforcement officer in Tucson, Ariz., Petersen often responds to disasters within the state. This project helped him to better understand disaster response at the national level and how federally-declared disasters tie into the National Response Plan.

"It has allowed me to learn more about emergency response planning, the Department of Defense's role in disasters and homeland security issues," Petersen said.

In addition to documentation from the units, Petersen uses newspaper and magazine articles and audio interviews from the commanders in the field to generate an accurate assessment of what happened on the ground and where improvements can be made.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the first times the Department of Defense coordinated a large-scale response to a natural disaster in addition to the traditional statewide response. The after-action reports will look at the process it took to get the active duty involved and how it can be streamlined in the future.

Petersen's work is focused primarily on the Marine Corps response to Katrina as well as the response by the Navy Seabees. The Marine Corps portion is in the final editing process and is currently being distributed and used by emergency planners for future operations.

At the end of his tour at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Petersen plans to return home to continue his studies and go back to work in law enforcement.

• Date Taken: 06.06.2009
• Date Posted: 06.10.2009 09:20
• Story ID: 34820
• Location: GUANTANAMO BAY, CU