The National Guard is creating new response teams to help states cope with catastrophic disasters, said an Army National Guard official.
The first “domestic all–hazards response teams” will be tapped next year to respond to some of the 15 national disaster planning scenarios.
One division will be assigned to states east of the Mississippi and one west of the Mississippi, Col. Hank Amato, chief of operations for the Army National Guard, said at the Association of the United States Army conference.
These are catastrophic events that would overwhelm local authorities and require a federal response. Scenarios include nuclear detonation, anthrax, chemical and high explosives attacks.
The list also includes natural disasters such as major hurricanes and pandemic influenza. Except for hurricanes, there is “little confidence” that the nation will be able to respond to these catastrophes, Amato said.
The National Guard has some units devoted to responding to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks. “What we didn’t have … was some forethought and some planning for any hazard that could befall the nation,” he said.
Not that there isn’t planning for catastrophes, but these revolve around “what you think you know that’s going happen,” he said. The teams will respond to the unpredictable.
The Guard will “take those units that are coming back from the war fight … and give them the training they need so we have a wide array of forces available for any type of response.”
That includes “obscure events that [states] never really thought would hit their area,” he added.
The plan is to start with “low hanging fruit,” or capabilities that the Guard already does well, then each year add some of the more difficult of the national planning scenarios into the mix, he said.
“So if something happens we can break the glass on it and move it out,” Amato said.
Some proof of concept was provided during the January inauguration when there were several catastrophic scenarios considered before the event. The Guard identified 14,000 of its personnel who had the necessary skills to respond to some of the contingencies. Although this event was known about weeks in advance, it showed that Guard personnel were available if needed, he said.