NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. – Ten members of the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command’s (JECC) Joint Planning Support Element (JPSE) and Joint Public Affairs Support Element (JPASE) participated in Joint Task Force- Civil Support’s (JTF-CS) exercise, Sudden Response 2014 (SR 14), from May 12 – 16 at Camp Dawson, W.Va.
JTF-CS, a subordinate command of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), is the nation’s only standing joint task dedicated to domestic Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) response operations. When directed, JTF-CS can deploy within hours of notification to command and control Department of Defense (DoD) forces in support of civil authority response operations to save lives, prevent further injury and provide critical support to enable community recovery.
SR 14 is an annual exercise conducted by JTF-CS to validate its ability to deploy and redeploy equipment and personnel during the initial stages of a CBRN incident. During a real-world incident, JTF-CS would oversee the command and control of the Defense CBRN Response Force (DCRF), which includes 88 military units located at more than 36 locations throughout the U.S.
JTF-CS specifically requested support from JPSE and JPASE during SR 14 to fill capability gaps on the JTF-CS staff. For instance, eight JPSE members assumed critical roles in the intelligence, current operations, futures operations and logistics directorates.
“When responding to a national incident, JTF-CS can call on the JECC to fill gaps on their staff,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bradley Waltermire, a JPSE member and the JECC’s SR 14 exercise lead. “As key joint enablers, the JECC can seamlessly integrate into the JTF-CS staff directorates. This exercise allowed us to accurately depict how this assimilation would occur during a real-world event.”
SR 14 also introduced JPSE members to the various nuances involved in CBRN missions which employ JTF-CS and the DCRF. While JPSE members are trained to provide expertise in joint operations and planning across the full spectrum of military operations, exercise participation brings an added realism to specific mission types, like CBRN.
“Not only were we able to further develop and solidify our relationships with JTF-CS, we were also exposed to the CBRN mission set and the capabilities of the DCRF,” Waltermire explained. “We study these types of operations during various training courses, but seeing it play out really added texture to our book learning.”
Two JPASE members assisted the JTF-CS Public Affairs (PA) staff with the numerous PA requirements which would be needed during a CBRN event. As experts in rapidly providing joint PA expertise, the JPASE personnel assisted the PA staff with a variety of tasks from the earliest stages.
“We assisted with mission analysis and mission planning, analyzed the media landscape and reviewed social media and news reports related to the [simulated] incident,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Stacie Shafran, a JPASE member who served as the PA representative in the SR 14 future operations cell. “We also provided the commander with relevant PA updates and developed talking points for the senior leadership to use when engaging with the media.”
One of JPASE’s most valuable traits is its ability to collaborate across staff directorates and mission partners to provide pertinent PA information to each cross-functional element. During SR 14, JPASE played a key role in the future operations cell, ensuring the approved PA messages were carried throughout each task to achieve the commander’s overall mission objectives.
“We made sure PA guidance was included and communicated during mission planning and shared information with the JTF-CS PA cell,” Shafran explained. “This collaboration ensured the team could plan PA-specific missions to capture photographs, write stories and generate talking points.”
In addition to providing valuable joint expertise to the JTF-CS staff, SR 14 provided an opportunity for JECC personnel to learn more about CBRN operations and hone their skill sets. This operational experience will be especially beneficial to JECC personnel in July when they participate in USNORTHCOM’s exercise Vibrant Response. This exercise will bring non-governmental organizations together with major units of the DoD’s CBRN response enterprise to confirm their combined capability to execute mission command, perform technical tasks and conduct other life-saving missions.