TAMPA, Fla. — Nearly 50 senior federal and military officials joined more than 300 attendees, today, at the 2010 National Guard Bureau and US Northern Command States Hurricane Workshop. The four-day workshop culminated with a public panel discussion by US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) commander, General Gene Renuart, Chief of the National Guard Bureau (NGB), General Craig McKinley, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Inter-governmental Affairs Juliette Kayyem.
"(This conference) is continuing to be an historic event, The results of this conference will be briefed to the President, stated General Renuart.
The focus of the workshop, hosted by the Florida National Guard, was on identifying state capabilities and shortfalls in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season. States considered the capabilities of their National Guard forces, the availability of those forces, and the areas where they would need assistance from other states or federal partners. USNORTHCOM and federal partners noted those requirements where the states would likely look to the federal government for help. Workshop participants also took part in a table top exercise that focused on actions required in the five-day period prior to a major hurricane striking the U.S.
Breakout groups focused on five major issues: Incident awareness and assessment, logistics, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue, and communications.
"We need to be very good at communicating. We need to inspire confidence," said Secretary Kayyem.
Participants plan to use upcoming national exercises to refine processes and better integrate the state and federal response to Hurricanes and other major catastrophic events.
The 2011 Hurricane workshop will be hosted by the Louisiana National Guard.
For more information on the commands, please visit www.northcom.mil or www.norad.mil.