Partnering to aid hurricane stricken

U.S. Northern Command and its National Guard and Defense Department partners are working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond in areas hit by Hurricane Michael, according to Northcom officials. Emergency responders are conducting initial assessments of the damage, officials said. The Coast Guard (CG) has been focused on safety of life, damage assessment, and reopening waterways. They had 129 rescues and its shallow-water response teams transported 142 nursing home residents to a hospital in Pensacola. The Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) sent more than 130 personnel, including survey teams to work with the CG and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to assess damage to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and Port St. Joe, Fla. The CoE is executing seven mission assignments that include delivering temporary emergency power, debris technical assistance and route clearance. Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga.; Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.; and Maxwell AFB, Ala., have been identified as FEMA incident support bases and federal staging areas in support of disaster operations to provide power and distribute supplies and equipment to the affected areas. Northcom has deployed a defense coordinating officer and a defense coordinating element to the emergency operations center in Tallahassee. These DCO/Es are specially trained military officers who provide DoD regional knowledge, requirements validation and liaison support in order to coordinate the military’s response to FEMA mission assignments. The Tyndall-based 1st Air Force Northern is the designated air component of Northcom with the sole responsibility for ensuring the aerospace control and air defense of the continental United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. (Source: Defense Department 10/12/18)