Corps West Coast division, districts' disaster preparedness exercise strengthens response capab
April 8, 2010
Story Highlights
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division conducted a Deployable Tactical Operations System emergency response exercise.
- The exercise familiarized Corps employees with working from a remote location to provide a seamless, effective response to an earthquake.
- DTOS helps emergency response agencies communicate faster and more effectively to assist earthquake victims.
SAUSALITO, Calif. - The magnitude 7.2 earthquake that rocked Southern California and northern Mexico on Easter Sunday underscores the importance of disaster preparedness and the need for a rapid and effective emergency response effort following such an event.
In what was both coincidental and timely, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division conducted a Deployable Tactical Operations System emergency response exercise March 30-April 2 featuring an earthquake scenario at the Corps' Bay Model Visitor Center in Sausalito. More than 100 employees from Division headquarters and the San Francisco and Sacramento districts participated in the four-day event, designed to show those with limited or no disaster deployment experience how to provide a seamless, efficient and effective response following an earthquake while operating from a remote location.
Beyond providing a chance to rehearse for possible disasters and to test proficiency, the exercise allowed Division employees an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the DTOS in a simulated real-world environment should the headquarters need to relocate following an earthquake.
"Many of our Corps of Engineers employees have deployed to Iraq, Haiti, Afghanistan, and they have an understanding of that," said Col. Scott F. "Rock" Donahue, commander, South Pacific Division. "But many have not deployed, so what we hoped to achieve with this exercise was to give our professionals an understanding of the Deployable Tactical Operations Centers and the equipment and give them a chance to participate for a couple of hours, plug in their work stations, work on their laptop, conduct the teleconferences, do all the things that they would normally do at work, but do it in sort of a remote location, one they aren't used to serving in."
A DTOS employs Deployable Tactical Operations Centers, which essentially are the hub, or command and control for disaster operations. Nationally, there are three, one of which is in the Sacramento District. DTOCs include two mobile Emergency Tactical Operations Centers in trailers and one emergency command and control vehicle with stand alone generator and satellite capability. These trailers have workspace, 21 computers on network, communication systems, and can be manned by up to 38 personnel. Each DTOC set is deployable within 36 hours.
With fax, phone, internet, GPS, copiers and more, a DTOC provides complete office facilities. In short, it helps emergency response agencies communicate faster and more effectively to get life sustainment essentials such as water, food and shelter to quake victims.
Part of the equation to streamline operations, officials found following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was to revamp its communications approach.
"In previous national disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, getting set up and establishing communications took longer, so it was decided that responders needed to bring their own equipment (to the disaster site)," said Moe Adams, team leader of the Sacramento District DTOC3 and an 11-year emergency response veteran. "We found that with everyone bringing in their own equipment, it was a lot faster; people have (Internet) air cards, CACs (common access cards), passwords. It was a lot more efficient and a lot faster to get hooked up, signed on and working. Everyone is more mobile now. Having that remote access is the key."
Adams led the DTOS team by convoy from Sacramento District's Bryte Yard facility on the exercise's first day. The team, which has six hours from notification to assembly to departure, arrived in Sausalito, positioned the DTOC trailers, established communications and power capabilities, and the exercise began the next morning. The DTOS itself is always in a ready state and prepared to deploy.
Donahue said that the exercise met its objectives, which was to give employees a dose of an emergency operations environment. "Our focus, really, are the three Ps - people, procedures and preparedness," Donahue said. "We focused on improving preparedness and readiness. We're training, educating and developing our workforce, the professionals who work in our headquarters at San Francisco who don't always get a chance to participate in emergency management type situations. We're validating our procedures for emergency response. The third piece is preparedness. It's all about readiness, and responding to either a natural disaster or any type of all-hazard contingency in our 10-state region."
Gary Fong, emergency management specialist for the Sacramento District, said a DTOS is a critical asset if an earthquake should strike, because it provides a tactical operations and communications platform for first responders where there are no available facilities or communications to support response operations. Fong said 9/11 is a great textbook example of how the DTOC functions.
"The DTOS system and centers were used at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center and served as the nerve centers for the Fire Department of New York," Fong said. "For weeks, they were the forward command centers for the FDNY to work in communications, and logistics support; the only communications in a sea of destruction and confusion at the World Trade Center.
"Early on, the most critical part was communications," he said. "Our people made it work."
And now, a new team is ready to respond should an emergency situation arise within the borders of SPD.