ROUND ROCK, Texas - Established more than 20 years ago, the National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) pairs each state with a foreign ally's military forces to share experiences, training opportunities and best practices throughout the spectrum of operations.
Since 2008, the Texas Guard and Chile have shared such a relationship, which most recently included a July 24 tour of the Joint Task Force 71 (Maneuver Enhancement Brigade) armory in Round Rock, Texas.
"We were honored to have some of their leadership take time to include us in their visit to Texas," said Army Col. Lee Schnell, commander for JTF-71 (MEB). The group, which included three senior Chilean army officers and a navy captain, toured the Round Rock Armed Forces Reserve Center in order to learn about and discuss the role our National Guard plays in emergency response.
"It's always a good thing to be here in Texas," said Chilean Navy Captain Francisco Abrego, who serves as a member of the Chilean Joint Staff for North America and Asia. "It's very important because we are still improving our capabilities in supporting the civilians and all the aid they need after a natural disaster, like the earthquake we had in 2010. You have got a very good organization here that we can take ideas and equipment you use to improve our system."
Building relationships was the focus point of the tour, as the discussion frequently returned to the importance of interagency cooperation in the fight to save lives when disaster strikes.
"The big take away from this is that it is all about relationships," said Schnell. "I think this was demonstrated during our meeting by having one of our civilian first responders at the table giving his perspective on the Homeland Response Force mission."
Chief Warren Weidler, the Austin Fire Department battalion chief in charge of special operations, joined the tour to offer his perspective as a civilian first responder and reinforce the importance of early outreach.
"All emergencies are local," said Weidler. "So the people that are affected are the local people. It is important that we have established these relationships prior to the emergency, and that we're very good at working with these people. Establish your relationships before you need them."
The United States' approach to disaster response comes after two decades of engaging natural and man-made incidents, from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to Hurricane Sandy last year. These response efforts dramatically influenced how the military interacts with civil agencies to save the lives of Americans.
"The U.S. National Guard's relationship with civilian first responders is somewhat unique to other countries' military forces," said Schnell. "Especially the fact that when we arrive to an incident, the civilians are totally in charge of the response and we are in a support role. Sharing this with our partners in Chile gives them a different perspective on emergency response."
This was an important discussion point for our South American partners as they work to refine their own disaster management plans.
"The good thing you have got is the interagency system you use because in our country it's very complicated to talk with other agencies," said Abrego. "Everybody wants to be the boss. You organize that thing and you've got a first responder that's going to be in charge of it so you know how to deal with other agencies. That's the thing we have to teach the other agencies in Chile."
Throughout the visit, members of JTF-71 (MEB)'s consequence management units, such as the 6th Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package, demonstrated their decontamination techniques, specialized equipment capabilities and basic procedures of how to engage an incident.
"We got to have a face to face with the Chileans and really talk," said Army Staff Sgt. Jon Garcia, the operations noncommissioned officer for the 6th CERFP. "They got to see what we have to offer our citizens and they took back a lot of knowledge about how we do [emergency response]. Maybe one day we'll go see what they have."
As this international partnership builds, both military forces depart the experience with the confidence that their primary mission is to save lives when called upon.
"At the end of the day, like you all, we are supporters of the first responders," said Abrego, "and we have got the capabilities because we have got people to support the major issues."