JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (July 14, 2026) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Jacksonville District has established a new Debris Planning and Response Team, expanding the national cadre of trained personnel who can deploy to support Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) debris missions after hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and other disasters.
"First thing I would like to do is say thank you from the bottom of my heart for answering the call and standing up to volunteer to be on the debris team," Lt. Col. Matthew Westcott, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Deputy Commander, told team members during the opening minutes of the training evolution as the district marked the milestone. "Your own ability to be able to accomplish the incredible mission we have in South Florida as well as these extra journeys that we find ourselves on in the emergency management world continues to impress me."
The Jacksonville District team is one of three newly established Debris Planning and Response Teams, bringing the national total to 10 and strengthening USACE's ability to support multiple disaster missions at once. According to Kayla Stull, the USACE National Debris Program Manager, the Jacksonville team serves as a strategic asset within a national rotation managed by Headquarters USACE, and it currently sits seventh in the rotation order.
“The debris team replaces the district’s temporary housing team and is part of our broader emergency management mission, while also serving as a headquarters-managed asset,” said Logan Wilkinson, Jacksonville District Emergency Management Chief.
"Depending on the rotation schedule and the location of a disaster, Jacksonville may either be the primary responding unit or serve as a critical backup to ensure we have the necessary bench depth to sustain long-term recovery operations," Stull said.
The added capacity reflects a growing operational demand. Over the past five years, USACE has seen an increase in requests for federal debris removal assistance, often driven by overlapping major disasters such as back-to-back hurricanes and large wildfires. Stull said expanding from seven to 10 teams helps the agency manage several large-scale missions at the same time without exhausting specialized personnel.
“Developing this team gives the Jacksonville District deeper expertise in debris operations, which strengthens the ability to support FEMA with technical monitoring and improves our overall emergency management capability here in Florida,” Wilkinson said.
"Debris removal missions are marathons that require sustained personnel over many months," Stull said. "Adding these teams provides critical contingency and depth, ensuring we can support multiple concurrent disasters simultaneously while maintaining continuity over the long haul."
For FEMA, the Jacksonville team adds trained personnel in a mission area that often shapes the public's first impression of recovery. Greg Bosko, FEMA Region 4 Infrastructure Branch Director, said he may serve during major disasters as an Infrastructure Branch Director overseeing public assistance operations, as a debris task force leader or as a policy expert supporting debris operations.
Bosko said FEMA and USACE often begin coordinating early, sometimes even before a storm makes landfall.
In practical terms, being "on call" means being ready to move quickly into impact zones and help communities organize debris operations from the earliest days of response. It also means having trained personnel, clear lines of communication and district-level confidence that the team can deploy without disrupting critical work at their home district.
“Should there be a disaster where debris support is requested by FEMA via a mission assignment, our Debris Planning and Response Team could be called on to support anywhere in the nation or U.S. territories,” said Wilkinson.
"We evaluate readiness at multiple levels," Stull said. "That includes individual readiness, emergency management office oversight and the commander's assessment to ensure the district can sustain the deployment of these personnel without compromising critical home-station operations."
“Leadership within the district prioritizes fully staffing the team and maintaining a ‘green’ ready-to-deploy posture, while headquarters provides training to sustain mission readiness,” said Wilkinson. “They have a signed statement of understanding with their supervisors that makes them immediately available to deploy, and the Emergency Operations Center supports the administrative and financial processes to get them out the door quickly.”
For team members, that readiness is personal. One Jacksonville District participant said serving on the district's debris PRT offers a direct way to use professional skills to help communities after disasters.
"It is incredibly humbling, knowing that when a disaster strikes, we have the training and mandate to deploy and help those communities in need," Michael Monahan, Engineering Technician, Operations Division said. "It comes with great pride, being a part of the USACE national response team, helping communities that are in need, and executing our mission with professionalism, safety, and compassion."
The team's training, known as Debris Mission 101, introduces new members to the foundations of debris management, FEMA mission assignments, Public Assistance policy, contract administration, data management and readiness requirements. The course also included tabletop exercises designed to sharpen judgment and prepare teams for uncertainty in the field.
"Our training is designed to build a solid baseline of knowledge on how USACE executes the debris mission, which we then reinforce through tabletop exercises based on real-world scenarios to develop critical thinking," Stull said. "We place a heavy emphasis on safety and how to properly utilize and administer the Advanced Contract Initiative contract."
For Monahan, the most eye-opening part of the course was learning about the Advanced Contract Initiative and the Performance Work Statement that helps guide contract execution. The training also changed how that team member viewed storm aftermath.
"It shifts your perspective from seeing debris on the side of the road to understanding the complex humanitarian and logistical challenges during these debris missions and working alongside FEMA and other agencies," he said.
He pointed to the 2011 Joplin tornado as an example of how rapid, coordinated debris removal can change the pace of recovery.
Strong field coordination is essential to that kind of outcome, Bosko said.
Stull added that the Jacksonville team's location also offers an advantage. As one of the newest teams in the rotation, it is training with the latest lessons learned from recent catastrophic events, while also bringing a deep familiarity with hurricane impacts and complex coastal environments.
"Having this additional team allows us to better distribute the operational demand across the enterprise, ensuring we can maintain the strict technical oversight, safety standards and contract management that FEMA and the public expect, without over-stretching our workforce," she said.
Success, she added, is ultimately measured in how quickly and safely communities can move toward normalcy.
"If we can execute the debris removal mission safely and efficiently to help a community take those first vital steps toward normalcy after a major disaster, then our team has been successful," Stull continued.
With the Jacksonville District’s debris Planning and Response Team now established and integrated into the national rotation, FEMA and USACE have added another trained, ready unit to support disaster debris missions, clear the way for recovery, and help storm‑impacted communities take their first steps back toward normalcy.