Firefighters train for Hazmat

Firefighters with Fire and Emergency Services Department respond to simulated call-our for a person contaminated with gasoline aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., May 24. The training exercise offers firefighters and medical personnel the opportunity to practice decontamination techniques to ensure efficient responses on potential incidents.

Firefighters and medical personnel with Fire and Emergency Services Department pause for a portrait in front of their rigs during Hazardous Materials Training aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., May 24.

Brian Hickox and David Pacileo, firefighters with Fire and Emergency Services, train in hazardous material recognition using the Hazmat ID360 during Hazardous Material Technician Refresher Course held aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., May 24. The device includes a library in which they can store data on substances for future recognition.

Texas Guardsmen stay mission ready to help fellow citizens

Sgt. Joseph A. Puente, a crew chief with the 2-149th General Support Aviation Battalion, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, based out of San Antonio, Texas, stands ready for the next medevac emergency, June 4, 2016. The State Operations Center requested more resources from the Texas Military Department due to the recent flooding across Texas. The 2-149th is equipped with medevac capabilities such as aircraft, to transport people and ambulatory patients to safety or a higher level of care. (Photo by: U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Elizabeth Pena)

Texas Military Department
Story by Sgt. Elizabeth Pena


The results and lingering effects of El Nino continue to wreck havoc on the state of Texas, as severe flooding across the state is forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes. From May 29, 2016 through June 4, 2016, more than 250 members of the Texas Military Department mobilized to support its local and state partners with emergency operations.

Disaster situations like these are exactly what part-time guardsmen like Sgt. Joseph A. Puente, crew chief for the Charlie Company, 2-149th General Support Aviation Battalion, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, are trained to be ready for.

“They call us M-day guys, meaning that we have a civilian job by day and we do this on the weekends,” said Puente. “But we always know that state active duty missions could come up, so if we are watching a big rain event, we know the possibility is there.”

When not in uniform, Puente works as a field operations technician at one of the nations leading Telecommunications Company in San Antonio, Texas.

On May 30, 2016, the State Operations Center requested more resources. Guardsmen from the 2-149th General Support Aviation Battalion, to include Puente, and Texas Task Force 1 Search and Rescue Team, were activated and mobilized to the San Antonio Army Aviation Support Facility in San Antonio, Texas.

“I looked at my schedule and said – if the state needs me, if the guard needs me, if the unit, and if I can be an asset to the public, please give me a call,” said Puente. “The call was sent out on Saturday on Memorial weekend and we reported in Tuesday morning at 7 am.”

The 2-149th is equipped with medevac capabilities such as aircraft, to transport people and ambulatory patients to safety or a higher level of care.

When paired with Texas Task Force 1, the unit is able to rescue citizens from life-threatening situations like trees, flooded creeks, or vehicles that have been swept away from high-rise water.

Guardsmen like Puente know that being mission ready is essential to saving lives.

“I’ve always heard the medevac world runs real fast,” said Puente. “I was prior infantry so I had all my stuff laid just right. Everything moved really fast but it was kind of like a controlled chaos. That aircraft was up and running in the least amount of time to get to that victim.”

Crew chiefs must go through about 25-50 hours of monitored training as a crew member and pass basic tasks as well as perform mission tasks which consist of tactical flying, fire fighting, hoist operations, night missions using night vision goggles.

This was Puente’s’ first real-world disaster response mission as a crew chief, and having that practice gave him confidence in his abilities to perform when Texas made the call for help.

“You’re with them all the time, you train with them, you’re doing high strenuous tasks and so you push through it together and when the aircraft lands at the end of the day you feel a sense of accomplishment.”

749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion hosts North Bay IMT multi-county emergency command post exercise

The North Bay Incident Management Team command establishes its operations center in preparation for a multi-county, multi-jurisdiction emergency services command post exercise at the California Army National Guard’s 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion headquarters in Benicia, Calif., May 2. The event included participants from the Valero Fire Department, Benicia Fire Department, Benicia Police Department, Marin Fire Department, Santa Rosa Fire Department, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. (U.S. Army Photo by Maj. Diana Alvarez/RELEASED)

224th Sustainment Brigade
Story by Capt. Christopher Meloy

BENICIA, Calif. – The California Army National Guard’s 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion opened its facilities to the North Bay Incident Management Team (IMT) last month for the purpose of conducting a multi-county, multi-jurisdiction emergency services command post exercise (CPX) at the unit’s Benicia headquarters.

North Bay IMT is a volunteer organization comprised mostly of retired first responders who work to best prepare local government agencies for large-scale civil emergency scenarios. The group was founded in 2012 to support local fire fighters and police officers with best practices for major incidents. The organization’s volunteers take pride in sharing their subject matter expertise in an open forum for participants to discuss ideas and experiences.

CPX “Park Incident” included participants from the Valero Fire Department, Benicia Fire Department, Benicia Police Department, Marin Fire Department, Santa Rosa Fire Department, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

The 749th CSSB Goldminers support operations officer, Maj. Diana Alvarez, was invited to attend the event as an observer and unit liaison.

“It was an interesting experience to witness the similarities between the first responders and the military and how we operate,” said Alvarez. “They were definitely not shy in admitting that their techniques were inspired by the military.”

The incident within the exercise simulated a nearby refinery fuel tank explosion and fire. North Bay IMT exercised entering into a unified command, assigning the Benicia and Valero Fire Departments with operational control and charging them with the responsibility to mitigate the effects of the accident.

Exercise participants adopted roles and positions almost identical to the staff functions used by the military.

The safety officer, plans section chief, logistics section chief, finance section chief, liaison and information officer worked to develop a plan and then presented it to the incident commander for approval and changes, mirroring the Army’s military decision making process (MDMP).

The organizations came up with their course of action and resources available (a process known throughout the military as staff estimates) and provided a tactics brief to the incident commander. Once the plan was approved, the first responders were empowered to put it into action.

Although the Benicia armory played host to the event, both the Valero and Benicia Fire Departments concluded that they would not use the facility in the event of an actual emergency under similar conditions due to the armory’s close proximity to the simulated incident.

Overall, both organizations said they were thrilled at the opportunity to align common interests in serving the community during large-scale emergency and disaster scenarios. The North Bay Incident Management Team’s “Park Incident” also allowed the 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion to combine strategic thinking with local first responders and strengthen the Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) mission for the California Army National Guard.

Members of the North Bay Incident Management Team prepare for their coordinated response to a simulated refinery fuel tank explosion and fire at the California Army National Guard’s 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion headquarters in Benicia, Calif., May 2. North Bay IMT is a volunteer organization comprised mostly of retired first responders who work to best prepare local government agencies for large-scale civil emergency scenarios. (U.S. Army Photo by Maj. Diana Alvarez/RELEASED)

Coast Guard responds to cannery fire near Uyak Bay on Kodiak Island, Alaska

The U.S. Coast Guard and emergency medical personnel transfer patients from a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to an ambulance in Kodiak, Alaska, June 2, 2016. The helicopter crew responded to a report of a fire at the Park's Cannery near Uyak Bay on Kodiak Island. (Courtesy photo by U.S. Coast Guard)

Blue Angels F-18 crash near Nashville, Tennessee,

An F/A-18 Super Hornet with the Navy's elite demonstration squadron crashed shortly after take-off Thursday, as its wreckage erupted in flames near a residential neighborhood, according to officials and local media reports.

Navy spokesman Cmdr. Mike Kafka confirmed the Navy is investigating a report of a Blue Angels F-18 crash near Nashville, Tennessee, where the team was practicing for an air show this weekend.
The pilot's identity and status is unknown. However, the local fire chief said his dispatcher was told that one person had been killed.
An initial Navy incident report says the Blue Angels jet crashed just after takeoff in a residential area and the pilot is not believed to have ejected. The report identifies it as Blue Angels plane No. 6. There are no reports of any civilians injured or homes damaged.
The jet crashed at 3:01 p.m. in Smyrna, Georgia, according to Naval Air Forces spokeswoman Cmdr. Jeannie Groeneveld.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew and the pilot and their families," Groeneveld said.