TMD Gearing Up For Hurricane Season

Photo By Brandon Jones | Brig. Gen. Greg Chaney and the Texas Military Department Command Group discussing TMD's assets integration into a statewide plan at the Hurricane ROC Drill at Austin Army Aviation Support Facility.  

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES

05.17.2019

Story by Brandon Jones 

Texas Military Department

The 2019 Hurricane season is quickly approaching and the Texas Military Department is ready to assist with any type of emergency response. On May 3, 2019, the agency hosted its annual interagency Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept drill at the Austin Army Aviation Support Facility.

This yearly meeting brings representatives from close to a dozen agencies, including the Texas Department of Emergency Management, Texas Task Force 1, Texas Department of Public Safety together with the Texas Army and Air National Guards and that of the Texas State Guard. The goal of the ROC drill is to provide a detailed walkthrough of the interagency plan set forth by the Texas Military Department should a hurricane hit Texas.

Part of the Texas Military Department's hurricane response is connected to the Defense Support of Civil Authorities, which is the overarching guidance of how the United States military can be requested by a federal agency to assist in missions such as natural and man-made disasters. This year the Texas Military Department has developed three phases to conduct emergency response operations: Pre-Incident, Response and Recovery, and Transition. Col. Robert Eason, Operations Director for the Texas Military Department believes the new phases build on trust and reliability.

“The HROC was a great success. The coordination between TMD leaders and our state and federal partners ensures we're prepared for storm season," said Eason.

The ROC drill also focuses on Mission Ready Packages that will quickly transform its battle-ready units into smaller more efficient groups. The Texas Military Department says deploying smaller, more tailored forces as opposed to an entire military unit allows the utilization of personnel and equipment that are needed. For the past five years, TMD officials say the top requested MRP's are Water Operations, Airfield Command and Control Team and the Ground Transportation Platoon.

However, TMD is ready to deploy another Mission Ready Package. It's called the Battalion Mission Command. TMD officials say it takes the same amount of time to deploy as the other MRP's and would enhance decision-making abilities and help forces get ahead of natural disasters.

In the past one of the major obstacles that TMD officials wanted to address was the massive growth in the Houston area. According to TMD officials, because of that growth, more high-water rescue assets may be needed to get additional people living in those newly developed areas. TMD has the equipment needed to carry out those rescues efficiently with officials maintaining current maps of those areas at high risk of flooding.

Forecasters with AccuWeather are predicting the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season may be slightly less active than last year, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be less dangerous. The outlook calls for a total of 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. Texas experiences the majority of tropical activity during the months of August and September.

The last major hurricane to hit Texas with major damage and flooding was in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, as a category 4 hurricane on August 25, 2017.

The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane season begins June 1st and runs through November 30th.

• Date Taken: 05.17.2019
• Date Posted: 05.17.2019 10:33
• Story ID: 322748
• Location: AUSTIN, TX, US