ATLANTA –
Americans who live along the eastern coastline are no strangers to the devastation caused by hurricanes and tropical storms. In the wake of that disaster, first responders, state and federal agencies pool resources to bring aid to those effected by the natural disaster.
Those called to render aid participated in the week-long Exercise Vigilant Guard with Soldiers and civilians assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston’s U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) and Task Force-51 in Atlanta.
Vigilant Guard centers around a level three hurricane hitting Georgia and the response by local, state and federal agencies coordinating assistance.
“The Georgia Emergency Management Authority wanted to exercise their emergency support functions for the state and exercise their joint force headquarters, which is the National Guard,” said Army Lt. Col. Lawrence T. McKiernan, Region IV deputy defense coordinating officer.
The hurricane triggers a series of steps and processes to get the aid needed to the people effected.
“What happens during a disaster is that it starts at the citizen level and as the citizen bubble up the requirements to the emergency management at the county level then the county is taking care of the citizens,” said Army Col. Catherine M. Tait, Georgia National Guard. “The county then communicates up to the state and the state helps them solve any issues they can’t handle.”
Should the lower levels of government exhaust their resources, or a capability that does not exist in their hierarchy, a call is made to the federal government. More often than not, the federal government is already working on site and preparing to assist.
“They can go up quite a ways to different agency partners, if we were not able to handle the requirement, then the state of Georgia would work with their federal partners, which is the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Department of Defense to get other partners to come in and help,” Tait said. “Resources at every level are put towards disaster relief and this – Exercise Vigilant Guard – is an opportunity to practice that.”
Federal and DOD resources cannot be used without specific requests from the state, which is when the governor requests a presidential state of emergency.
“Upon request, the state has to get Title 10, federal forces, in through the governor’s request to the president of the United States,” said Col. John D. Highfill, G3, Task Force-51, U.S. Army North (Fifth Army). “When that declaration is made and Title 10 forces are requested, it’s for a very specific reason, because the capacity or capability of the state has been exceeded.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, has 10 regions across the United States which systematically conduct training based on threats to their areas. Each FEMA region trains and builds relationships with the various levels of government so everyone is better prepared to respond to a real world crisis.
“It’s been a great integration exercise between all forces both – National Guard and active duty – and we had reserve forces here too,” Highfill said. “Integrating with interagency, military forces and state emergency operations centers has been a great event.”