Emergency managers come together for Global Dragon

PERRY, GA, UNITED STATES

03.20.2015

Courtesy Story

108th Wing

By Senior Airman Mel Isidro
108th Emergency Management Flight

PERRY, Ga. - It is rare for emergency managers in the Air National Guard from different regions and shops throughout the United States to gather together to train and put their skills to the test. It is rarer that emergency managers also are provided the opportunity to work with live chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents. Equipment, budget and other safety constraints can make it difficult to train at their home stations, let alone with other people. Over the course of two weeks from March 8-21, 2015, this exceptional opportunity allowed Emergency Managers from all parts of the U.S. to come together at the Guardian Centers in Perry, Ga., to participate in the Global Dragon deployment for training.

Emergency management is a unique career field that includes skills needed to operate in an ability to survive and operate setting or wartime environments, as well as run an emergency operations center, prepare other Airmen for deployment or respond to a hazardous materials call. To support peacetime operations, EM shops are divided into their respective Federal Emergency Management Agency regions. The Airmen within those FEMA regions train together and learn to work with each other. Global Dragon has taken that a step further and allowed them to network with other EM shops and learn their best practices and to share experiences.

Many emergency managers know that operating at any incident is not a one-man job. The success of an incident is reliant upon a collaboration of minds working together to mitigate the problem. Not knowing who an Airman works with or their capabilities can be detrimental to the operation. EMs are putting their lives in their wingman’s hands every time they suit up, and meeting at the disaster for the first time is not conducive to good teamwork. Exercises provided at the Global Dragon DFT allow emergency managers to meet before the real disaster happens and helps to prepare them for a successful outcome when we need it the most.

The emergency manager motto is, “Instruo pro pessimus, spero optimus,” meaning, “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.” Through Global Dragon, EM Airmen are trained to be ready for anything, including the worst case scenario.

• Date Taken: 03.20.2015
• Date Posted: 04.13.2015 10:23
• Story ID: 159824
• Location: PERRY, GA, US