JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska– Alaska National Guard, state defense forces, and Coast Guard District 17, in partnership with Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management officials, tested their disaster response capabilities during Exercise Vigilant Guard 25-2, March 1-7.
Vigilant Guard is an annual large-scale exercise sponsored by US Northern Command in conjunction with the National Guard Bureau and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The exercise evaluates and enhances the integration of local, state and federal responders under one command structure.
The Joint Task Force-Alaska staff comprised state and federal forces, including Alaska DHS&EM, Alaska National Guard Joint Staff, Alaska State Defense Force, Alaska Naval Militia, 103rd Civil Support Team, Alaska Army National Guard and Alaska Air National Guard. Federal participation included the NORTHCOM Joint Enabling Capability, Alaskan Command and FEMA Region 10 Defense Coordinating Officer/Element.
Before the exercise began, NORTHCOM officials hosted two days of the Joint Staff Training Course, preparing exercise participants to command and control the response to the full spectrum of state and national emergencies.
Alaska Air National Guard Col. Christen Brewer, Alaska National Guard Joint Staff operations officer who served as Joint Task Force-Alaska operations officer during the scenario, said the complex exercise included several likely Alaska disaster situations.
“The scenario was complex and included multiple possible responses the AKOM could be asked to support,” she said. “The scenario for this Vigilant Guard was melting of winter snowpack and breakup of river ice causes flooding along the major Alaskan rivers over several weeks. A 5.5-magnitude earthquake created a landslide near Portage, which complicated the response by blocking the Whittier Tunnel and causing the Barry Arm Landslide to release into the water, trapping a recently arrived cruise ship in Whitter.”
According to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Geological and Geophysical Surveys website, the Barry Arm Landslide is a large landslide in Prince William Sound, and sudden failure of the landslide could create a tsunami resulting in life-threatening waves and currents in Barry Arm, Harriman Fjord, Port Wells and adjacent fjords.
Beyond natural disasters, the exercise included urban hazards and malign internet hackers.
“An explosion at the Alaska Blood Bank released Cesium-137 into the air, affecting Anchorage neighborhoods and the Alaska Medical Center,” Brewer said. “Concurrently, several non-attributable cyber events occurred throughout the state, affecting private, public and military networks.”
Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen, both active component and National Guard, came together to compose JTF-AK Headquarters during the exercise.
“The JTF-AK mission was to provide civil support to the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in affected communities throughout Alaska in order to save lives, prevent human suffering, and mitigate great property damage from the effects of multiple natural and man-made disasters currently impacting local and state municipalities,” Brewer said. “The AKOM training objectives supported this mission by activating a dual status commander, exercising the AKOM All Hazards Response Plan, conducting hazardous material response, and integrating the Women Peace and Security mission into our operations.”
Brewer said the DSC command structure ensures a unified effort. Alaska Air National Guard Col. John Romspert was the DSC, Navy Capt. Scott Swagler was the DSC for federal forces, and Alaska Air National Guard Col. Matthew Komatsu was the DSC for AKOM forces.
“A dual status commander is a military officer with the authority to command federal and state forces and is often used during natural disasters like hurricanes and catastrophic seismic events,” she said. “The DSC coordinates efforts for both National Guard forces under state authority and federal military forces under federal authority. Utilizing a DSC provides unity of effort, which was key during Vigilant Guard 25-2.”
Brewer said JTF-AK excelled during the exercise because of lessons learned during the previous year’s Vigilant Guard.
“The Joint Staff spent the previous year planning and preparing for this exercise, and their efforts paid off,” she said. “Their procedures were rock solid and were lauded by the NORTHCOM Training team on their response.”
The biggest payoff of the exercise, Brewer said, was building muscle memory around the joint, interagency and multi-component nature of JTF-AK.
“It’s always important to exercise your response plan and build partnerships and relationships with the organizations you plan to execute with,” Brewer said. “You definitely don’t want to wait until a no-notice disaster to figure out the plan and who to call. We have built excellent relationships with our mission partners and will continue to exercise and train with them throughout the year.”