Photo By Lt. Col. Angela King-Sweigart | More than twenty members of the Pennsylvania National Guard Joint Staff along with...... read more read more
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HARRISBURG, Pa.-More than twenty members of the Pennsylvania National Guard Joint Staff along with partners from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency attended a three-day training Nov. 15-17, with trainers from North American Aerospace Defense Command/U.S. Northern Command.
The course is designed to ensure comprehensive training and education for joint staff members staff so that they may better respond to domestic disasters like floods and snow emergencies.
“This course was a great opportunity to work with my fellow staff members and interagency partners. I really liked working on a notional scenario in preparation for real-world domestic operations,” said U.S. Army Maj. James Ailes, intelligence officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard Joint Staff.
When activated domestically, the Pennsylvania National Guard works closely with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, making this training essential for good partnerships.
“The course allowed me to interact with different members of the Pennsylvania National Guard that I normally don’t work with,” said Eric Rickenbach, division chief for Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency logistics and resources. “These interactions now will help better prepare us for working together during emergencies.”
The Soldiers, Airman, and civilians learned more about responding to natural disasters and examined several case studies. The course culminated with beginning to design a response to notional catastrophic flooding in Pennsylvania. The proposal was then briefed to senior military leaders.
The course was a successful event that helped train personnel to provide a cohesive response.
"Our mission is to build readiness and partnerships through joint training and education provided by the combined National Guard Bureau and U.S. Northern Command team," said Mathew J. Brady, a lead joint training instructor. "The Pennsylvania National Guard is widely recognized for the strength of their personnel and close working relationships with their civil and private industry partners."
Pennsylvania National Guard has responded to 60 natural disasters since 1953 with more than 25 of those responses to flooding. Its most recent support to domestic operations was helping to ensure the security of the commonwealth’s municipal election earlier this month using its
defensive cyber operations element.
The Pennsylvania Guard is one of the largest and most deployed National Guards in the nation and headquartered at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. In addition to its federal mission, the Pennsylvania National Guard responds to domestic emergencies, working with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, U.S. Northern Command and dozens of federal, state and local agencies. The Pennsylvania National Guard maintains a joint operations center at Fort Indiantown Gap staffed by Pennsylvania Guard members 24/7 that support its domestic mission.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2019 21:07 |
| Story ID: | 352056 |
| Location: | HARRISBURG, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 507 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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