Maryland ANG Ready to Assist in Major Disaster
[vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1500597769570{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Story by Tech. Sgt. David Speicher, 175th Wing[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1500597856264{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Maryland Air National Guard recently received and trained on new equipment that allows them to be more prepared to assist local communities in the event of a natural or man-made disaster at home.
This past fall, the unit acquired a Mobile Emergency Operations Center, which is designed to support civilian entities in the FEMA region, which includes Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The trailer is an Air National Guard emergency management asset that could be used with either military personnel or civilian emergency responders. It is available to be used for natural disasters, aircraft mishaps, defense support to civil agencies, civil disturbances, terrorism threats, weapons of mass destruction and special events.
“The MEOC is used as a highly capable on-scene command center to project information to senior officials of whichever agency/jurisdiction we are supporting,” said Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Crabill, 175th Civil Engineering Squadron, Emergency Management superintendent.
The trailer is essentially designed to act as a temporary command post during an emergency, added Staff Sgt. Brent Deal, 175th CES, Emergency Management equipment manager. The speed of setting up and the capabilities of the trailer allows the military to give immediate support the civilian responders reacting to the disaster.
“As soon as we pull up to the site and park the trailer, we can have people inside in a matter of minutes with phone and internet capabilities,” said Deal.
The MEOC is a self-contained system which includes satellite internet with six work stations and a meeting area with video conferencing capabilities. In addition, the disaster trailer has satellite television to monitor news stations for updates on the situation, its own weather station to monitor the local weather conditions, a long range on-scene camera, Voice over Internet Protocol phone system, Ultra High Frequency and Very High Frequency radios, and a radio interoperability system.
Currently, the Guard members are still training on the equipment and have not used the facility in Maj. Gen. James Adkins stands with members of the Emergency Management force. The Maryland Air National Guard recently acquired a Mobile Emergency Operations Center, which is designed to support civilian entities in a disaster in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Photo by 2nd Lt. Jessica Donnelly Line Winter 2012 7 a real-world emergency. However, they are hoping to reach out to local civilian responders, as well as the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, to train together on the equipment.
“We are reaching out to [agencies] outside the unit to let it be known that we have this asset,” said Deal. The trailer is 36 feet long and must be towed to location. It is able to connect to an external power source or operate off its own generator for three to five days, depending on the amount of assets being used.
“[We are] awaiting new communication equipment and a tow vehicle to become fully operational and a self-sustaining asset,” added Crabill.
The MEOC trailer is stored on base in the new fire department, which was introduced to the public in a ribbon cutting ceremony conducted Jan. 19. The MEOC was manufactured by North American Catastrophe Services at a cost of approximately $850,000. The plan is to eventually have at least one MEOC in each FEMA region across the country, with approximately 20 trailers distributed throughout.
The capabilities of the MEOC allows the Maryland Air National Guard members to be there for their community in the event of an emergency. Whether the disaster is natural or manmade, the Air National Guard Emergency Management force remains ready and relevant with the addition of the MEOC.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]