DULUTH, Minn. - “This provides a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities that the National Guard is receiving and can provide in time of a disaster to the local emergency responders who normally wouldn’t see it,” said Master Sgt. Cameron Stufflebeam, 132nd Fighter Wing installation emergency manager.
The 132nd Fighter Wing has brought a Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC), a regional FEMA asset, to the 148th Fighter Wing as part of Vigilant Guard 2015, a National Guard Bureau-U.S. Northern Command initiative running Aug. 24-28, 2015, that is intended to foster and enhance cooperation between National Guard and State interagency partners.
According to Stufflebeam, a MEOC provides the community’s incident commanders with the ability to manage and mitigate events ranging from natural disasters and major accidents to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, through a rapidly deployed interoperable communications suite and emergency response support.
From laptops with wireless internet access to various radio communications options, a MEOC can be deployed within 2.5 hours of notification, is operationally capable 30 minutes after arrival on-scene and is able to self-sustain for three to five days of continuous operations.
In addition to incident command, a MEOC also supports first responders, local responding agencies and emergency management.
The Minnesota National Guard builds and maintains relationships with local, state and federal partners to ensure a coordinated response to disasters. As part of these relationships, a MEOC provides integral support in disaster response through the ability to interface with local radio frequencies, provision of a weather station, satellite television and a long range on-scene camera with recording capabilities.
Four Vigilant Guard exercises have been conducted annually throughout the United States since 2006.