Airmen Ensure "Command and Control" in Tennessee Maneuvers 2016

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Dan Gagnon
  • 134 ARW PA
MEMPHIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Tenn. (June 22, 2016) --  Airmen from the 119th Command and Control Squadron practiced their disaster response techniques utilizing the Joint Incident Site Communication Capability Terminal (JISCC) at the Tennessee Maneuvers exercise (TNMAN '16) in Memphis, June 20-23, 2016. 
The JISCC is a mobile command and control center that provides emergency communications for multiple agencies during various types of disasters, and can be set up and working in minimal time.
"We're ensuring that their communication is seamless and that it happens in the quickest manner possible," said Tech Sgt. Jerimiah White, a JISCC crewmember with the 119th CACS. "We can set core services up in about three hours."
TNMAN '16 was the largest Emergency Response Exercise ever undertaken by the Tennessee National Guard.  Hundreds of Soldiers, Airmen and civilian responders were part of the exercise.  It was designed to promote realism utilizing complex terrain, multiple partners, unique authorities and statutes to test and demonstrate catastrophic response capabilities.
The 119th CACS trained on how to be interoperable with other emergency agencies, both military and civilian, in an earthquake situation and what would be necessary to bring to the fight, said White.
Under the command of the Governor, the Tennessee National Guard is ready to respond to any state emergency. 
"Most of the surrounding areas still rely on trunked repeater networks and if the earthquake was to truly happen, the likelihood of those repeaters staying up, or the servers that are attached to the inoperable, is a very low probability," said White.
The TNG is committed to using all resources to assist local emergency responders at the request of Federal and state emergency agencies.