Photo By Staff Sgt. Debra Cook | Cpt. Joshua Cossey, Task Force Crowd Operations Officer gives instructions to Task...... read more read more
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Washington, D.C. – More than 1,100 Soldiers and Airmen from the Florida National Guard and the eight other states of Joint Task Force Crowd (JTFC) descended upon the Capitol grounds during the dark early morning hours on inauguration day. Guardsmen were deployed to the area from their respective states to stand guard at gate entry points along the National Mall in support of the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Park Police.
Joint Task Force Crowd is one of 11 task forces participating in this historical event, each with its own function from crowd control to cyber security. Soldiers and Airmen functioned as the eyes and ears for federal and local law enforcement during the event.
“I think all of us feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to help the public and keep the peace,” said U.S. Army Capt. Joshua Cossey, JTFC Operations Officer. “We’re here to make sure that the citizens who are here to enjoy the event or perhaps exercise their first amendment rights are in a safe environment.”
Operational planning began months before with close collaboration between and among the 83rd Troop Command, 779th Engineer Battalion and eight other National Guard states.
“We are honored to take on the responsibility of being in charge of this multi-state task force,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Calhoun, the Florida Adjutant General who attended the previous day’s ceremony where the task force members were deputized. “It’s worthy of the type of Soldiers and Airmen we have in the state of Florida to take on missions such as this. I’m proud and honored that Florida has command of the task force.”
According to Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Topping, the JTFC Command Sgt. Maj., cooperation among the other states has been excellent and every effort has been made to clearly communicate every detail to ensure everyone’s full understanding
“We’ve been going over situational awareness and all the things we’ve been taught over the past 15 years of mobilization to Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Topping. “And a lot of that training and operational support apply to this event too.”
Given the magnitude of the operation, service members are trained to have flexibility in responding to unanticipated challenges while also providing responsive support to state and federal authorities.
“It’s just the simple fact that we are going to be doing something very intense and a lot of these guardsmen don’t see this level of intensity,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Michael Saurondon, a JTFC officer. “The biggest take away is that we’re being very flexible and very professional.”
| Date Taken: | 01.20.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.20.2017 18:41 |
| Story ID: | 220883 |
| Location: | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 303 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Florida National Guard Provides Support to the 58th Presidential Inauguration, by MAJ Colleen Krepstekies, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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