Photo By 1st Sgt. Duff E. McFadden | "This scenario has been designed to break us," Brig. Gen. Roy Webb, Joint Task Force...... read more read more
By Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden
Iowa National Guard
JOHNSTON, Iowa - Snow melt and record-setting rains inundate the state in a matter of days, causing major flooding. Tornadoes tear through three major Iowa metropolitan areas, causing a wide swath of destruction and dozens of deaths. Power outages occur throughout the state, leaving thousands of Iowans in the dark. Cyber-attacks on the east coast threaten utilities and infrastructure in the heartland.
While this may sound like a Hollywood-inspired apocalypse movie, it's all part of Vigilant Guard 2016, a notional exercise designed to test the boundaries of the military and local, state and federal emergency management officials.
As Brig. Gen. Roy Webb, the Joint Task Force Iowa commander for the exercise told his team during its initial briefing, "This scenario has been designed to break us," he said with a smile.
Vigilant Guard is a large-scale, multi-state disaster response exercise sponsored by the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the National Guard Bureau, with the goal of testing the capabilities of emergency response agencies at all levels of government, both military and civilian.
Its core elements enhance the ability of the Iowa National Guard and state emergency management agencies to work together, while improving their abilities to respond to large-scale incidents. It also involves assistance from multiple states and agencies, as well as the use of active duty, National Guard and reserve forces from all branches of the service.
"The Vigilant Guard scenario was designed to push our internal Joint Task Force Iowa staff to its limit, in order that we would have to augment them with Title 10 (active duty) staff members and G-staff members and 671st Troop Command staff," said Webb. "It was designed to push us beyond our limits so we would have to bring new members in and integrate them, so that if we had to do this in real life, we would have already done that."
Approximately 500 service members and civilian officials battled a series of simulated catastrophes over the course of a four-day period. Scenarios were designed to stretch the limitations of the Iowa National Guard, necessitating the cooperation of local and regional partners and requiring additional federal assistance.
In addition, there were two other unique situations, which made this exercise, held four times a year across the country, even more challenging for the Iowans.
First of all, Webb had the rare opportunity to serve as a dual status commander, having command and control over both National Guard and Active Duty and Reserve forces. Secondly, even though the exercise was taking place during the chilly, second week of January, on paper at least, it was all occurring in June.
"It was more than what I expected," said Col. Steve Warnstadt, the Iowa National Guard Joint Chief of Staff for the exercise "We knew some of things that we would be faced with, but just as in a real situation, we had things thrown at us that we weren't expecting.
"We had a scenario that was destined to challenge the Iowa National Guard and our ability to work with our state and federal partners and we were very successful in that operation. We received many compliments from the observers, from other states and from the National Guard Bureau and NORTHCOM.
"We'll now incorporate the lessons we've learned from this exercise to ensure we can support our civilian partners in helping to save the lives and protect property of our Iowa citizens in the future," he said.
While using organic Iowa National Guard units such as the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division; 67th Troop Command; 671st Troop Command; and 734th Regional Support Group, the Iowa National Guard was also able to tap into active duty and reserve forces.
For Col. Jed Cohen, an active duty Air Force member with USNORTHCOM, this was his first experience with Operation Vigilant Guard. After becoming certified last year, he was assigned as Iowa's Title 10 (active duty) deputy commander, where he could learn through hands-on experience. His responsibility involved employment of those active duty forces being sent to Iowa for assistance.
"I knew this would be rough on a couple of fronts. Number one, you're dealing with a scenario that's pushing people to their limits. While they're dealing with scenarios Iowa has faced before, such as flooding and tornados, there's enough realism to stress the staff as they react, and they're doing so under severe time constraints. It's all very serious."
Cohen said the mantra of saving lives, reducing suffering, mitigating property damage and getting Iowa on the road to recovery, could easily be applied to the exercise.
"This was a team effort," said Webb. "We had NORTHCOM and the Active Duty component, a lot of federal agencies and state partners, the State Emergency Operations Center and the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. There were a lot of different departments playing with us. This will better prepare us for the future as well.”
Webb admits there are some things you can't replicate. He said his team was very focused despite the many distractions thrown at them.
"Even though everyone took it very seriously and did the best they could, that sense of urgency, of having an emergency that puts fellow Iowans at risk, it’s tough to duplicate. So, to try to add that little extra level of stress and that extra level of urgency is the way to do that. It really tests your staff."
As the saying goes, you "Train as you fight."
"It was a great exercise for Iowa and a great exercise for not only the Joint Task Force of the Iowa National Guard," Webb said, "but it was also great for the State Emergency Operations Center and the Department of Homeland Security, and for all of us working together as a team, which made for a great exercise.
"We're coming out of this as the best-trained Joint Task Force, Iowa National Guard, for domestic emergencies since the 2008 floods. We're very well-trained, well-prepared, and ready for anything that may take place within the state," he said.
Cohen said he appreciated the many opportunities participating in Operation Vigilant Guard presented.
"I think it went very well. The Iowa team is very well trained to begin with and I think this approach, which is taken to extremes, helps refine the Iowa National Guard headquarters staff procedures for dealing with a national disaster.
"Iowa has a fantastic team and they're very professional. They were very instrumental in helping us get trained and I think I took away more than I gave, so I now feel I'm even better prepared to help," Cohen said.
Participants included entities such as Iowa Homeland Security Emergency Management, the American Red Cross-Iowa, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Public Safety, and the Iowa Department of Public Health, to name a few.
| Date Taken: | 01.15.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.15.2016 23:05 |
| Story ID: | 186442 |
| Location: | JOHNSTON, IA, US |
| Hometown: | JOHNSTON, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 370 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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