Redstone counts on its community partners to get things done, and that includes disaster response.
The American Red Cross was among the many community organizations involved in Redstone’s full-scale exercise July 24.
“The community was able to support the exercise by attending group meetings for months in advance of the event and were able to meld their skills and abilities with the skills and abilities of the resident first responders on the installation,” Mark McClure, chief of plans and ops division, Installation Emergency Operations Center within the Garrison, said. “The inclusion of the civilian first responders from the community are an important and valuable asset for the preparation and response for any future emergency event since events such as this affect the entire community.
“And Redstone relies upon maintaining this professional relationship.”
He said organizations involved in the full-scale exercise included Huntsville Emergency Medical Services Inc. or HEMSI, Fox Army Health Center, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Madison Fire Department, Huntsville Fire Department, Crestwood Medical Center, Huntsville Hospital and the Huntsville Police Department. The Red Cross interfaced with Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood for some of the casualty processing and notifications. A representative from the Red Cross participated at the emergency family assistance center in the Pershing Welcome Center. Five Red Cross volunteers distributed water to first responders at the exercise sites.
Amy Teeter, director of service to the armed forces and international services for the American Red Cross, was the representative at the Red Cross table that day in the emergency family assistance center.
In an actual large-scale Redstone emergency, the Red Cross role would be two-fold, she said. One would be a disaster response – such as providing housing for displaced families. The other is emergency communication.
“It’s so important, that partnership, that we’re able to deliver emergency resources. We have a vast network,” Teeter said. “That’s a special relationship we have with the military.”
The Red Cross has 15 volunteers at Fox Army Health Center. Volunteers are essential to the Red Cross because they represent 90% of its workforce. “Our volunteers are a very special group of people,” Teeter said.
In the full-scale event July 24, Huntsville Police Department participated from the beginning that morning when the exercise began with a breach at a Redstone gate.
“Basically, the initial response to it, the assistance just outside the gate,” HPD Sgt. Justin Barclay, the sergeant over the police academy and the bomb squad, said. “A coordinated effort.”
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