Photo By Staff Sgt. Taylor Solberg | Master Sgt. Brian LeBrun and Senior Airman Mitchell Vavra pose with the South Dakota...... read more read more
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Early August each year, thousands of vehicles travel Interstate-90 through South Dakota for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. There is one vehicle making the trip that stands out from the rest due to its size and function. This vehicle is the South Dakota Air National Guard’s Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) and it will travel to Camp Rapid, Rapid City, S.D. to support the 82nd Civil Support Team as they complete their mission.
“The MEOC is a regional asset that's assigned to our unit,” explained Master Sgt. Brian Lebrun, Emergency Management Non-commissioned Officer in Charge. “Whether it’s a natural disaster, hazardous material threat, or the support of local law enforcement, our MEOC can be used.”
Sgt. LeBrun, along with Senior Airman Mitchell Vavra and Senior Airman Caleb McNeil, all members of the 114th Civil Engineer Squadron Emergency Management office, are on this year’s trip with the MEOC across the state.
“Here in South Dakota we are fortunate to have one, of only two nationally, of these drivable MEOC’s. Most states have trailers that they can pull to locations.” said LeBrun.
The MEOC can be stocked with a multitude of sensors and communication devices that allow Airmen to detect and identify threats such as hazardous gases or materials, and radioactive materials. This equipment on board also allows users to communicate this information with other law enforcement agencies.
“We do a lot of radiological tests because you never know what materials people might bring to the environment,” said Airman Vavra.
Airman Vavra shared an example of how these tests benefited the mission in the past. At a past Sturgis Bike Rally, law enforcement officers and first responders were suffering from various respiratory ailments such as sore throats. Through tests done with equipment provided by Emergency Management it was determined that excessive exposure to CO and CO2 from exhaust of the numerous vehicles at the Rally was causing overexposure to these hazardous gases. This led to the adjustments of work shifts for these individuals and less exposure making for a healthier work force during the Rally.
The MEOC also has the ability to send and receive information to both military and civilian communications and networks. This is vital in environments like the Sturgis Bike Rally. Although the MEOC will be staged at Camp Rapid, Rapid City, S.D. it can easily be moved to any location and quickly set up to serve as a command and control center
“Recently we returned from Volk Field where we participated in an exercise, PATRIOT North 18,” said LeBrun. “This was a multi-agency joint exercise that several different units, including civilians, brought their MEOCs to and we practiced several scenarios to ready us for events like we might encounter at the Rally.”
The MEOC is a valuable tool the Emergency Management uses in order to help maintain order during emergencies and natural disasters. The Sturgis Bike Rally is an example of how it can also be used to make civilian events such as the Rally safer places for people to attend and operate from.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2018 17:14 |
| Story ID: | 288315 |
| Location: | SOUTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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