Photo By Staff Sgt. Leon Cook | U.S. Marine Maj. Jeremy Brady connects a light set Sept. 30. Tatum, part of the I...... read more read more
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NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. – Sailors stationed at this relatively small but picturesque installation received unusual guests Sept. 30. That morning, an Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft landed at the airstrip, and Soldiers and their equipment disembarked.
Soldiers set to work putting up tents on the eastern side of the airfield. Soon the tarmac on the airfield, dotted with EA-18 Growler and P-3 Orion aircraft, had a new, if temporary, resident. The I Corps Early Entry Command Post had arrived.
“The EECP is the corps’ capability to send a command node anywhere in the world on a single C-17 within 96 hours,” said Matthew Archambault, the officer in charge of the EECP.
The idea behind the EECP is that if an emergency arises, such as an earthquake or a tsunami, the EECP will quickly deploy to the site and assume mission command over the response. The command post will coordinate with U.S. forces, and also communicate with coalition partners and nongovernmental entities.
“The global situation is unpredictable. The chief of staff, General Odierno, is asking us to be as flexible as possible,” Archambault said. “We are heeding his guidance.”
Once the tents for the EECP were set up, communications specialists got to work on the all-important communications systems. Mere hours after landing, the command post was set up and communicating with elements of I Corps back at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
This is a certification of our ability to fit into a single C-17, fly somewhere, and establish [communications],” Archambault said. “The C-17 is a great aircraft, but it doesn’t fit everything inside, so we had to figure out what we absolutely needed.”
Everything they brought was contained in a handful of Humvees and trailers, a compact package easily contained in a C-17.
The next morning, it was time to tear down – but not until Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl and Canadian Brig. Gen. Carl Turenne, both deputy commanding generals for I Corps, dropped by for a short visit. They looked over the command post and visited with the Soldiers and Marine that made it happen.
After the generals left, it was time for the EECP to follow them. Taking the command post down was even faster than putting it up.
Soldiers traveled back to JBLM that afternoon, some in a vehicle convoy and others by helicopter. They would sleep in their own beds that night after a job well done.
“We were supposed to fit everything we needed into one C-17, fly somewhere, and get the communications working,” Archambault said. “That’s exactly what we did, so this was a success.”
Setting up the EECP was a joint venture, Archambault said, and thanked the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command for help weighing their vehicles, the Air Force for transporting them, and the Navy for providing a place to set up.
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.03.2014 14:57 |
| Story ID: | 144230 |
| Location: | NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 157 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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