Mark Leslie, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, briefs those in attendance at the Fort Johnson Severe Weather Brief, May 7, about weather risk window analysis.

Briefing mitigation CONPLANS, Dennis O'Reilly, chief operations branch, walks Fort Johnson command and leadership through the process in place.

Those attending the Fort Johnson Severe Weather Brief, held May 7, pay attention and take notes as briefers explain the plan for when bad weather hits Fort Johnson.

Fort Johnson command and leadership attending the Severe Weather Brief, held May 7, follow along as briefers prepare for weather's worst storms.

Fort Johnson, La. — Dangerous weather can happen at any time. Fort Johnson has already seen the possibility of everything from high winds and rain to flooding and tornados this year. With the upcoming hurricane season about to begin June 1, there’s even more reason to make plans and be prepared. The 2025 hurricane season is expected to be more active than normal, with as many as 17 storms expected — nine of them potentially becoming hurricanes. These weather events have the potential to cause widespread damage and endanger lives.

To help prepare for hurricanes and any number of other critical weather situations, a severe weather brief was held May 7 at Fort Johnson’s After-Action Review theater. Command, unit leadership and key organizations integral to emergencies were briefed on things like the monthly weather threat overview, outlook for Atlantic tropical weather, wildfire risk index, mitigation CONPLANS, disaster response task forces, federal, state and local staging contingency and more.

Mark Leslie, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security director, briefed at the meeting. He said the severe weather brief is one of the most important things DPTMS does all year because it enables them to preserve mission readiness and protect the community.

“This brief shares the installation plan with all the units, directorates, agencies and organizations on post, as well as with our local and state partners, so we can plan for and mitigate risk ahead of a crisis. Plus, if we do have a severe weather incident, everyone knows their part in the plan, and we can initiate that plan rapidly to restore services to the Fort Johnson community. Just like units deploying have a “road to war” plan, this installation has a “road to weather war” plan every year so we can mitigate the risk to the community and sustain capability so the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Johnson can continue to fulfill its obligations to the Army,” Leslie said.

Nathan Jernigan, Director of Public Works, also briefed the audience in attendance. He said the importance of DPW and how they react during a severe weather emergency is woven into the fabric of Fort Johnson teamwork and planning.

“The Severe Weather Brief has been proven as one of the most critical briefs provided to the installation leadership. DPTMS professionals pull together stakeholders from across the installation and develop a product that doesn’t just brief well, but is fully executable. We have proven over and over, through hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires, that the plan works,” Jernigan said.

Jernigan said the part DPW plays in the severe weather plan is imperative because reliable, resilient and redundant power transmission and distribution infrastructure is the life source for the installation.

“Without power, critical facility system functions such as water, wastewater, communication networks, heating and air conditioning are inoperable. Our PACE (Primary/Alternate/Contingency/Emergency) Plan, as briefed, outlines the installation’s posture from the day-to-day power grid operation to the execution of our facility generator plan during extended power outages,” Jernigan said.

Leslie said the brief is important, but the many hours of intellectual energy invested in collaboration, synchronization, contingency plan development and analysis for just about everything you can think of is the foundation the plans are built on.

“This is really an “all-hazards” plan. By the time we give the brief, the staff that developed it, knows the plan and every contingency inside and out. They know the risks, the risk windows, the forecast and the installation’s capabilities. The brief is just icing on the cake and we disseminate that information to everyone, which instills confidence in the command that we have a solid plan to protect JRTC and Fort Johnson from a very unpredictable hazard — mother nature,” Leslie said.

He said the Fort Johnson community should know and take comfort that this installation is prepared.

“In my opinion, we likely have the best plan in the world for severe weather. This is a team of very talented, dedicated individuals from across the installation that are devoted to ensuring our community’s safety. We will do everything possible to ensure they are informed before, during and after a crisis,” Leslie said. “The plan we briefed is available for all to see on the JRTC & Fort Johnson home page and I encourage everyone to take a minute to check it out. I also encourage everyone in the Fort Johnson community to take some personal responsibility and prepare yourself and your family for severe weather season, June 1 – Nov. 30.

Available resources:

https://ready.army.mil/ and https://www.fema.gov/

Fort Johnson Facebook

My Army Post App

Fort Johnson 2025 Severe Weather Podcast on the JRTC & Fort Johnson YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAUWBGBSs-I&ntb=1&msockid=43510b2d2c4a11f0a359ac672a94ed69