FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas—United States Northern Command deployed today a Defense Coordinating Officer and Element in preparation for Tropical Storm Dolly, which is expected to reach hurricane status before landfall.
Col. Laverm “Bullet” Young and the Region VI Defense Coordinating Element from Denton, Texas, deployed to the Regional Response Coordination Center in Austin, Texas, to coordinate requests for federal military assistance in response to the storm.
The Department of Defense brings additional capabilities for disaster response as part of a larger federal response when requested by a state through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and approved by the Secretary of Defense.
As the Region VI DCO, Young and his six-person coordinating element prepare for civil support missions by working daily with federal and state emergency planners and consequence managers in the five-state region of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
They are assigned to United States Army North, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Army North provides defense support of civil authorities as the Army component of U.S. Northern Command, the combatant command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., that is responsible for homeland defense and civil support.