Col. David Wilcox (center), the chief of staff for U.S. Army North’s Contingency Command Post, listens as his staff briefs him Aug. 26 as the team prepares for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Irene to the East Coast of the United States. The members of the contingency command post prepare to deploy forward to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., in anticipation of requests for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is the overall lead for the federal response effort for Hurricane Irene.