MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- First responders from Los Angeles and Orange Counties joined forces with Marine Corps, Navy and Army units to form a Southern California Disaster-Terrorism Task Force. The task force conducted a multi-day earthquake disaster drill that will integrate personnel, aviation and ground-based equipment from civilian and military agencies.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the potential for other disasters along with the Global War on Terror, has highlighted the need for the task force and related training.
“This training will enable us to develop and refine our capability to conduct serious incident response operations in support of local, state and national authorities within the western United States and to be prepared to conduct follow-on security and humanitarian operations,” said Col. Stephen T. Ganyard, commanding officer, Marine Aircraft Group 46.
With the introduction of Marine Corps Administrative Directive 589/05, “USMC Roles and Missions in Homeland Security and Defense Support of Civil Authorities,” local commanders can now assist civil authorities when called upon. This directive is based on Department of Defense Directive 3025.1 “Military Support to Civil Authorities.”
“We will deploy personnel and equipment in order to conduct individual and unit level training. At the end of our training, we will have established a baseline incident response capability for MAG-46, in conjunction with other 4th Marine Aircraft Wing assets based at MCAS Miramar,” said Ganyard. “We will also have gained the experience that will allow us to refine our follow-on training and capability development, identify equipment and capability shortfalls, and formalize our relationships with external agencies and authorities.”
Unit training includes basic fire fighting and first aid, simulator based Engagement Skills Training, crowd control and Search and Rescue training.
Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) Los Alamitos is a key training installation located within the city limits of Los Alamitos, Calif., approximately 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
In the event of a catastrophic incident, natural or man-made, which cripples Los Angeles and/or Orange County, JFTB Los Alamitos would be a likely staging area for MAG-46, according to the published training guidelines.