COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Ohio National Guard (ONG) serves as a fully operational force for contingency operations overseas while performing the mission to defend and serve the citizens of Ohio.
Toward that end, the Ohio National Guard Joint Force Headquarters flexed its planning muscles in November during the first Adaptive Battle Staff (ABS) exercise.
The Adaptive Battle Staff is composed of three groups which coordinate Ohio National Guard support to the Governor of Ohio, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and joint task forces operating during times of domestic crisis.
The Crisis Action Team (CAT), the Joint Planning Group (JPG) and the Joint Operations Center (JOC) comprise the ABS and serve to provide mission guidance, interagency coordination, and planning for Ohio National Guard resources and support, and to communicate the availability of Ohio National Guard capabilities and forces.
“The Adaptive Battle Staff stood up in July 2009,” said Maj. Matthew Woodruff, chief operations officer for the Ohio Joint Operation Center (JOC). “We evaluated our standing operating procedures (SOP) and learned that we needed to modify our process to stay ahead of the change in our operational environment.”
That environment now includes supporting contingency operations abroad, defending the homeland and supporting domestic recovery operations within in the United States. The lessons learned from past deployments, including those from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, have proved invaluable, Woodruff said. Increased demands for situation assessment, decision-making and monitoring outcomes in unusual situations require planning and practice.
“We wanted to exercise and test our ability and capability to respond in a crisis,” Woodruff said. “We developed a ‘Hurricane Preston’ scenario that would require each of the critical components of our organization to take action.” |
The ABS ensures planning and decisions are made early during a crisis, and allows the appropriate domestic response by the Ohio National Guard along with its interagency partners.
In addition to training Ohio National Guard staff, this exercise also presented a unique training opportunity for the Ohio Military Reserve (OHMR) as it undergoes transformation from a state defense force into a civil support brigade under the governor of Ohio through the office of the adjutant general.
“We have been working with the OHMR to develop a new mission set that will allow them to support areas of the organization that more closely fit their skills and abilities,” said Maj. Gen. Gregory L. Wayt, Ohio adjutant general.
The exercise allowed officers of the Ohio Military Reserve to join their Ohio National Guard counterparts from the initial planning stages of the crisis and participate fully in the disaster reaction preparation.
Ohio Military Reserve Chief of Staff Col. John Fair said their entire organization is excited about working with the Ohio National Guard and participating in the exercise.
“After the transition, we’ll be under the Ohio (National) Guard structure, so it is important to become familiar with their planning and communication processes,” Fair said. “We can mobilize to assist the State of Ohio in an emergency.”
Working together, the ONG and the OHMR met the goals of the exercise. Rosters were validated and practices were refined. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the energy and effort the teams put forth on this project,” said Woodruff. “The scenario and training package we developed was realistic and comprehensive in nature and will ultimately lead to lives being saved in a crisis or disaster.”
Members of the State Public Affairs office contributed to this story. |
