NIANTIC, Conn. – Members of the Connecticut National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters joint staff completed a five-day training earlier this month that strengthened their ability to respond in emergency operations, perfectly timed as the country faces a major winter storm this weekend.
The Joint Task Force Staff Training Course, or JSTC, was held Jan. 7-11 at Camp Nett. The training allowed the staff to establish baseline skills necessary to execute the staff’s unique mission of deploying troops in response to natural disasters.
“The joint staff has a high level of turnover,” said Maj. Lee Lukas, domestic operations officer in the Connecticut National Guard’s joint operations center. “It’s like a revolving door with new staff rotating in every couple of years. The JSTC is an introductory course that helps lay the groundwork for a good team.”
This baseline training is critical for the Joint Staff members to succeed in their mission because their niche role isn’t typically taught by the Army, Lukas said.
When the state faces an emergency, whether it’s a natural disaster such as the Hawthorne Brush Fire that burned more than 127 acres of woodlands a couple years ago, a pandemic such as COVID-19 or any other declared emergency in which the governor calls on the National Guard to assist, it is the Joint Staff’s job to provide the logistical support and manpower for that mission.
It's an important mission with real-world consequences, which makes this training important.
During the three days of the course, students were taught by instructors from Western Hemisphere Command and learned the nuances of operating a successful joint staff during an emergency. This included how to coordinate with other civil authorities, such as the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, or DESPP, and the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
The course culminated with a practical exercise in which the team needed to respond to a winter storm emergency.
“In the practical exercise, we used the Military Decision-Making Process to create a Common Operational Picture for [the adjutant general] for a winter storm response,” Lukas said. “With that, he can better advise the governor on how the National Guard can help during the emergency.”
New England is no stranger to winter storms, but with a major storm threatening to bring multiple feet of snow to most of the country this weekend, the training came at a good time. Lukas is working to make the training a biannual requirement to ensure that future joint staffs remain proficient and ready to aid the state when needed.
The training is about more than just meeting the minimum requirements for the job. It’s also a prerequisite for additional training that can better prepare the organization for emergencies and operations outside the scope of normal calls for assistance.
For example, there’s a Joint Planner’s Course, or JPC, that trains students in strategic planning for large-scale events such as Hurricane Katrina if a disaster like that ever occurs in Connecticut.
There’s also the Joint Reception Staging Onward and Integration course that teaches students how to ensure forces are effectively received, prepared and deployed in an emergency, particularly during large-scale events when the state sends out an Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC. An EMAC occurs when a state formally requests additional equipment or personnel from other states because it lacks the appropriate equipment or manpower to handle the emergency.
With the potential for unknown disaster lingering ever on the horizon, the Connecticut National Guard is taking a proactive approach to readiness, because when the state needs help, the National Guard will always be there.