Maine and Montenegrin Soldiers Work Toward Disaster Preparedness

Photo By Sgt. Jarod Dye | The Maine National Guard hosted special guests from the Montenegrin Ground Army from July 23-29, 2017 as part of the State Partnership Program that has been connecting the two military entities since 2007. The Soldiers from the Montenegrin Ground Army toured civilian and military emergency response agencies and discussed planning for earthquakes, floods, fires, blizzards, and other natural disasters.  

AUGUSTA, ME, UNITED STATES

07.25.2017

Story by Spc. Jarod Dye 

121st Public Affairs Detachment

The Maine National Guard hosted special guests from the Montenegrin Ground Army from July 23-29, 2017 as part of the State Partnership Program that has been connecting the two military entities since 2007.
The Soldiers from the Montenegrin Ground Army toured civilian and military emergency response agencies and discussed planning for earthquakes, floods, fires, blizzards, and other natural disasters.
The group was led by Lt. Col. Peter Carter, the commander of the 11th Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team, an expert in disaster preparedness himself, “This week were going around and seeing how they can better their emergency preparedness system and their liaisons with civil authorities. We’ve gone to both the state Emergency Management Agency and down to the county level here in Waldo County.”
Going to these sites didn’t only benefit the Montenegrin soldiers.
“This partnership is twofold, we definitely learn a lot about how both organizations interact with civil authorities,” said Carter. “We look at their protocol procedures and they look at ours and we make recommendations as to how they could best interact with their civil authorities back in Montenegro.”
This role of the National Guard is unique to the Army as it has to be responsive to the any state emergencies
“One of the key components to the National Guard is getting everything back to normal in the case of a natural disaster,” said Carter. “It’s important both on this side of the Atlantic and the other side to really go in and try to bring the capacity and infrastructure back online as quickly as possible after a disaster.”
This mission however goes beyond the role of just preparing for disasters.
“We learn so much about our allies in the European command region by understanding their capabilities and concerns by relationship building,” said Carter.
The country of Montenegro and the state of Maine were paired together in 2007 because they have so many similarities.
“The state of Maine and the country of Montenegro have a lot in common,” said Carter. “We’re about the same size, we rely heavily on tourism, we have a lot of waterfront, mountains, and a lot of the same concerns and issues they have.”
Montenegro’s national government is extremely invested in the program in the same way the Maine state government is.
“It’s really a fantastic partnership and the Ministry of Defense in Montenegro have been very supportive of these events and we’re very happy to be partners with Montenegro,” said Carter.
The National Guard was not the only organization that shared knowledge with the Montenegrin Army.
“We gave them a tour of the Central Maine Regional Communications Center, the 9-1-1 call center and the State Police Incident Management Assistance Team Truck,” said Wade MacFarland, an operations manager with the Maine Emergency Communications Bureau.
The three organizations also talked about how each countries first responders were summoned to an emergency.
“We wanted to show them how our radio capabilities work and how our 9-1-1 systems work, which is different than theirs,” said MacFarland.
The EMCB is working with the Maine National Guard now more than it ever has before.
“Through the State Police IMAT we’ve been working with the National Guard more on major incidents, the National Guard has some great communication assets that we’re trying to work with.” said MacFarland.
Macfarland then went on to talk about building preparedness before any events actually happen.
“If we train with the National Guard ahead of time it makes it that much easier to work with for a real event. We work with the Guard several time a year and we’d like to see that increase as well, it’s a great group to work with and everyone’s very professional.”
Each organization’s goal is essentially the same in the end, to reach peak preparedness to protect the public.
“As a group overall we work very well,” said MacFarland. “A positive outcome to the mission is what we’re all trying to work for.”
The Montenegrin soldiers participated in conversations with experiences that they brought from their country. These experiences regarded how their current systems operate and how they will make them operate even better in the future.
“The Montenegrins had some good points about what works for them and whenever you meet with anybody you’re always going to learn something,” said MacFarland. “You see a different viewpoint, and you can use that to build your agency better.”

• Date Taken: 07.25.2017
• Date Posted: 08.21.2017 16:24
• Story ID: 245501
• Location: AUGUSTA, ME, US