BEAUFORT, S.C. - The National Guard deployed a public affairs capability to support a major disaster preparedness exercise called Vigilant Guard, which will test the capabilities and interoperability of local regional and state level first responders including the South Carolina National Guard, the state's first military responders.
Vigilant Guard is a three-day National Guard-hosted exercise beginning April 21 in Beaufort, S.C. The exercise is designed to test the ability of the National Guard, along with federal, state, and local "first responders," to react to a domestic emergency.
The public affairs organization that will assist media in capturing various stories during the exercise is the National Guard Public Affairs Rapid Response Team (PARRT) comprised of Army and Air National Guard personnel from South Carolina as well as states from as far away as Oregon. The team is employed in an emergency situation with Public Affairs individuals from all 54 states and territories who volunteer to support in a crisis.
"We are there to assist the local state PAO in a crisis by bringing in a tailored capability based on their need and the magnitude of the crisis," said Lt. Col. Eric Maxon, the PARRT chief. "We can come in as light as one individual with some emergency communications gear or we can assemble a robust team within 12-24 hours who can deploy and set up operations for the duration of the crisis."
The PARRT is staging in Beaufort to assist the media with the gathering and dissemination of information about a simulated earthquake disaster centered in Beaufort County. In addition to facilitating the media in gathering their stories this year's exercise will also allow the media to embed and test their exercise preparedness by allowing them to live and work within the confines of the exercise.
"We're here to facilitate whatever the needs of the press are," says Master Sgt. Paul Mouilleseaux, PARRT operations chief from the National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C. "When the media calls us someone will have to answer their questions about the simulated or real disasters and help them to get their story told"”so the public knows what is going on."
The National Guard public affairs personnel and equipment arrive in a package to provide reach-back capabilities in a worst case scenario. They incorporate high-tech satellite communications technology that will provide one of the few means of communication for the media in a disaster ravaged area.
"Public affairs is an integral part of any natural disaster operations," says Col. Peter J. Brooks, the South Carolina state public affairs officer. "In a real world emergency or disaster we need the media's help in getting the word out, as to where the critical life-saving supplies may be located."
National Guard public affairs assets are provided at the request of the state experiencing a disaster. It is up to the governor and adjutants general of the state to decide what assets they would like to tap into that includes resources from the National Guard Bureau as well as all other states.
"This whole thing (Vigilant Guard exercise) can be intimidating to the public, but we are here to help them prepare for future emergencies and disasters," added Maxon.