Louisiana National Guard Prepares For Hurricane Season

Guard validates emergency plans with disaster response exercise

CAMP BEAUREGARD, La. - The Louisiana National Guard finished months of preparation with a joint Disaster Response Exercise April 2-6 in New Orleans.

The training brought together nearly 600 participants from the National Guard, Coast Guard, local, state and federal agencies to complete an exercise that simulated a category two hurricane hitting the greater New Orleans metropolitan area.

Soldiers help an injured role player during a Disaster Response Exercise: Soldiers were given different missions simultaneously to test the Louisiana National Guard’s ability to respond to an emergency. US Army photo by Thomas Benoit

The exercise tested and validated plans that the Guard and other agencies have in place in the event of an emergency and prepared the participants for the Governors Hurricane Preparedness Exercise May 7-9.

The exercise, which was held at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, featured helicopter, boat and ground search and rescue, interoperability communications testing and a joint incident command post for operations and logistics.

Missions were given to the Soldiers characteristic of real-life scenarios as witnessed during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Participating agencies included: Department of the Army-Evaluations, National Guard Bureau, Governor’s Office for Homeland Security and Emergency Preparation, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, New Orleans Levee Police, Police Department, Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services, New Orleans Lakefront Airport, New Orleans Lakefront Marina, New Orleans Levee Board, Lamar Dixon and Fort Polk Intermediate Staging Base.

Source: National Guard

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