CHESAPEAKE, Va. –
More than 50 local emergency response volunteers gathered for their quarterly meeting in Chesapeake, March 10, where U.S. Marine Col. David Olszowy, Joint Task Force Civil Support deputy commander, was the guest speaker.
Olszowy discussed the unit's mission and the employment of a specialized response force during a man-made or natural disaster in the United States, and explained the various ways JTF-CS would provide support and the flexibility of the unit's response options.
"We provide planning support to various national special security events, [such as] an inauguration or a presidential summit, up to a catastrophic event, like a nuclear detonation," said Olszowy. "We can go from a small-scale to a large-scale event pretty quickly."
JTF-CS anticipates, plans and prepares for CBRN-Defense Support of Civil Authorities response operations and provides command and control of the defense chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response force.
The DCRF, which has 88 military units located at more than 36 locations throughout the U.S., provides a variety of lifesaving and sustaining response operations. These operations are focused around six core capabilities: mission command, hazard identification and detection, search and rescue, decontamination, medical triage and stabilization, and medical evacuation.
"We have four task forces located around the country that provide our robust, well-rounded capability," said Olszowy. "Our unit is the head of the snake that coordinates the response and provides command and control to the task forces."
While JTF-CS supports national level response, the Chesapeake Emergency Response Team provides similar support locally around the Hampton Roads area.
The CERT is an all-volunteer team comprised of more than 200 people, most of which are military veterans. They are responsible for educating people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area. CERT trains Chesapeake residents in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, team organization and disaster medical operations.
"We conduct basic emergency response training classes that are about six weeks long, and we also conduct emergency response drills with surrounding cities once every three months, said Ken Belkofer, CERT training coordinator. "Training is very important and keeps our skills sharp."
Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
Olszowy also explained CBRN incident response is the command's primary focus, however; the unit also has the expertise and training to respond to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes.
In November 2012, JTF-CS rapidly deployed to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., in support of Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. During the command's two-week deployment, JTF-CS coordinated a variety of federal military support to aid relief efforts, including 80 strategic airlift missions conducted by the Air Mobility Command, 600 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel dewatered 11 tunnels in both New York and New Jersey and delivered more than two million meals by the Defense Logistics Agency.
The Chesapeake CERT also responded to Hurricane Sandy. They assisted the Office of Emergency Management and the Chesapeake Fire Department by notifying more than 1,200 homes in flood prone areas. The team deployed 22 members who went door-to-door delivering informational flyers about flooding and damages. The team donated 199 hours of service to the City of Chesapeake.
For additional information on JTF-CS, visit us online at: www.jtfcs.northcom.mil or www.facebook.com/jtfcs.