British hope to learn lessons from National Guard disaster response

Col. Wendul G. Hagler, Missouri National Guard chief of staff, briefs Mark Phillips, a British defense and security expert, on the National Guard response to recent natural disasters. (Bill Phelan photo)

By Bill Phelan
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - The Missouri National Guard response to recent natural disasters has caught the attention of defense officials across the pond.

Mark Phillips, an adviser to the security minister of the British House of Lords and defense policy lecturer at King's College in London, was briefed Friday on the Guard response to flooding, winter storms and tornados during a visit to Jefferson Barracks in south St. Louis County. Phillips' visit came about through the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program and the St. Louis office of the World Affairs Council.

"I'm here to look at how the military in the United States responds and works in a homeland context," Phillips said. "That is, how generic military skills can be applied at home, which is a valuable lesson we can learn from the U.S."

Phillips was briefed by a cadre of officers from the 70th Troop Command, including Col. Wendul G. Hagler, Missouri National Guard chief of staff, and Lt. Col. Christopher W. Mickan, the brigade's administrative officer. Appropriately, the meeting took place in the new Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center, which was built in part to serve as a command center during state emergencies.

Hagler explained to Phillips that when mobilized by the governor, Missouri National Guard Troops augment and expand the response capabilities of local, civil authorities.

"Our job is to assist the local authorities, not to take the lead," Hagler said. "We bring disciplined military manpower and equipment solutions to the fight at the request of county emergency management offices and the State Emergency Management Agency."

After being mobilized to respond to a February winter storm, Missouri National Guard troops were again called up for the Good Friday tornado that struck St. Louis County, which was followed by a response to flooding in southeast Missouri, which was followed by the Joplin tornado and the current flooding in northwest Missouri.

Hagler said the Guard response to natural disasters this year has surpassed that of the response to the Great Flood of 1993.

"We have had Soldiers and Airmen of the National Guard on continuous state emergency duty since Easter," he said.

A key to the Guard's emergency response capability, said Mickan, is anticipating mobilization before it occurs and having a prepared plan to execute once the order comes.
"For example if an earthquake were to occur we have a pre-executed plan of response ready to go and we know which units would respond, where they are located and what their responsibilities would be," he said.

"At our Joint Operations Center in Jefferson City we keep a 24-hour watch on weather conditions and other events as they occur throughout the state," added Hagler. "Tornadoes and earthquakes will happen when they happen, but for flooding and other weather-related incidents we can anticipate those and prepare for them in advance."

Another lynchpin in the Guard response to state emergencies is the liaison officer who is professionally trained to work with county officials in coordinating available Guard assets, such as manpower or equipment.

"The liaison officer helps bridge the gap between civil authorities and the military," Hagler said. "Civil authorizes have to be briefed on what the Guard can bring to the fight. If a county needs military capability to expand its response efforts, the liaison officer can articulate how to go through the proper channels to make that happen."

Hagler also emphasized the fact that the National Guard maintains a presence in 63 Missouri communities, putting Guard troops within easy reach of each of the state's 114 counties and the city of St. Louis.

During state emergencies, Guard officials also monitor social media such as Facebook and Twitter in order to maintain a real-time assessment of a given situation in an affected community and to gauge the public reaction to the Guard response.

Phillips was genuinely impressed with the briefing but said force structure differences between the U.S. and British military would make copying the National Guard effort in the United Kingdom a daunting challenge.

"I was most impressed with the National Guard's ability to establish relationships with civil responders, to plan ahead for the task and to maintain their high readiness, mostly by having a clear idea of the availability of units and Soldiers," he said. "But we don't have a National Guard in the U.K., we have a reserve component and a regular component. Still, it's all about managing people and defining your task, which we can learn lessons from you in the homeland context. So as the scale and number of natural disasters increases, and they will only increase, we will have to develop the same kind of rapid response, which your National Guard is quite experienced at."

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites:
www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard; www.blog.moguard.com

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For more information about this release, please contact UPAR Bill Phelan at 314-416-6639 or cell, 314-556-5428 or e-mail bill.phelan@us.army.mil.