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Civil Military Projects Officer David Hawkins, 76th Operational Readiness Command, was the instructor for Defense Support of Civil Authorities 101 course (DSCA) held July 13-14, 2016 in Pensacola, Fla., which covered helping local and federal agencies during disasters and emergencies.
“As we move forward, we need to learn how to get the Reserve and Active components engaged,” said Hawkins.
The two-day training educated company and battalion commanders about the DSCA process, what it is used for and how the Army Reserve can get involved with state and federal agencies to aid during emergencies. Emphasis was placed on the Army Reserve acting as a support asset, rather than a group to come in and take over.
“We’re there to support, we are not in charge,” Hawkins said, “We are a resource provider.”
According to Hawkins, when looking at emergency management, the National Guard has traditionally been the component ordered to respond to stateside emergencies. There has been a reduction in Army personnel, nationwide and in all components, which can potentially affect stateside response availability within the National Guard. Reserve soldiers have been called out under immediate response authority to help with wild fires in Washington, to assist after tornados in Illinois, and to help evacuate in West Virginia during floods.
“We need to reach out and engage those local commanders so if they receive these request then know what they can do and what their authorities are,” said Hawkins.
Army Capt. Pammy Burnett, 429th Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, has had past experience work with state governments during emergencies as a former National Guardsmen. She came to the DSCA training to get a better understanding and deeper knowledge of how it actually works. The training encompassed immediate response authority and the authority which commanders have, the process they need to go through once the local authorities make a request, activation timeline and how to process requests through FORSCOM and USARC.
Army Maj. Wesley Sands, with 724th Military Police Battalion, was one of the many officers who participated in the training. The course was developed for company and battalion commanders to explain exactly why DSCA was formed and how to be proactive by implementing a continuity of operations plan/program.
“I think commanders were able to broaden their thinking scopes when it comes to DSCA and preparing their units for emergencies” said Sands, “It also encouraged me to develop a plan of action in the event of a natural disaster within my areas of responsibility.”
| Date Taken: | 07.14.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2016 18:34 |
| Story ID: | 204009 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 115 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Army Reserve Trains to Support Civil Authorities for Emergencies, by MSG Shaiyla Hakeem, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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