Photo By Master Sgt. Daniel Griego | In this image released by the Texas Military Forces, Joint Task Force 71 leadership...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas - When disaster strikes, first responders and military support units must work quickly and decisively to contain the incident. This requires coordinated efforts and effective communication to ensure these disparate agencies present a unified force to engage the catastrophe.
In preparation for such an encounter, the Texas National Guard’s Joint Task Force 71 met with their active duty counterparts in Fort Hood to share what the two teams bring to chemical defense fight.
“We discussed their capabilities and how they might be able to assist us in our DSCA mission,” said Craig Parkhill, Defense Support to Civil Authorities coordinator for Joint Task Force 71. “We also discussed some of the unique problems or challenges that they might find at a DSCA mission. It gave us some good indications on what we have and what they have and how we can bring those together.”
The 2nd Chemical Battalion, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, consists of three chemical companies and a headquarters detachment.
As the active component of the Army family, their mission differs from that of the National Guard because it is federal and designed to engage overseas conflicts. The homeland response force mission of Joint Task Force 71 is one of direct support to civilian agencies and the first responders.
Lt. Col. Christopher Cox, commander for the 2nd Chemical Battalion, said: “I believe there are lots of training opportunities and lots of opportunity to grow together as two organizations that are attempting to achieve the same end states and share some of the best practices. In a large-scale event, we will probably need all of our resources to be able to interoperate between each other. I think that it’s great that we have the opportunity to talk to each other.”
The two Army units did more than talk as they spent all of January 26 showcasing capabilities and establishing a long-term communication plan in the event they ever need to work alongside each other.
“We got to see their equipment, see how they operate,” said Maj. Mikel Sledge, operations officer for JTF 71. “We also saw how we were similar in the make-up and compilation of their decontamination line, for instance.”
A key discussion point of the day’s tour was shared training opportunities between the two chemical units, and other military assets with whom JTF 71 has met recently.
“We can send soldiers to Marine training,” said Sledge. “We can send people up to active duty training up here at Fort Hood, and so that opens up a lot of opportunities for us in the future.”
While JTF 71 had much to learn from its active duty sister unit, it also has much to offer in terms of bridging the gap between the active Army and civil authorities.
“We bring to them a closer relationship with the civilian counterparts,” said JTF 71 commander, Col. Lee Schnell.
“At the end of the day,” said Schnell, “it’s about saving lives. It’s about what we can do for the first responders.”
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.29.2012 23:17 |
| Story ID: | 82992 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 149 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Texas chemical soldiers share capabilities, best practices, by MSG Daniel Griego, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT