Capital Shield Tests Emergency Response

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Capital Shield Tests Emergency Response
Army News Service | Thomas Mani | October 26, 2007


WASHINGTON -- A deadly bomb ripped into the Hart Senate Office Building shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, throwing the region into ... another Capital Shield exercise that primes the readiness of the military to lock arms with local and federal interagency partners in response.

With the region boarding up, stripping the store shelves bare of milk and bread, and otherwise preparing for Hurricane Victoria fictitiously churning her way up the coast of Virginia, U.S. Northern Command had already told Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region to begin operations as Joint Task Force NCR. Forces from NORTHCOM were already on site to augment JTF-NCR.

Capital Shield 08 was the third in the series of exercises conducted by JFHQ-NCR and the first with Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe Jr. in command.

"The exercises provide a tremendous opportunity to practice individual and unit skills required to fulfill our tasks as assigned by U.S. Northern Command," Maj. Gen. Rowe said. "Also, most importantly, we are able to exercise joint operations, techniques, procedures and command and control relationships with our joint, interagency and intergovernmental partners.

"Capital Shield enhances our ability to communicate internally and with our interagency partners, and to test how well we are able to marshal resources and achieve a unity of effort toward primary goals."

Emergency preparedness plans for JTF-NCR run along three lines of operation, and all - homeland defense, continuity of operations, and mitigation of disaster -- were being taken out, tested, polished and assessed for refinements and other improvements.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,154882,00.html