DVIDS – News – Tulsa District emergency power team trains to remain ready for next mission

TULSA, Okla. — Volunteer first responders with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District Power Team recently attended an annual training and tabletop exercise at the district headquarters. They are one of seven such teams that are part of the USACE Emergency Management program who stand ready to serve the nation during times of disaster, often deploying within hours.

USACE Districts’ Emergency Power Planning and Response Teams, when deployed, work with state and local officials to provide emergency power needs in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of the unified federal disaster response.

“The training gave the team members an overview of the mission from start to finish and provided them with the most recent changes to their positions and updates to the contracting procedures,” said Tulsa District Emergency Management Specialist Kerri Stark. “It also gave them an opportunity to participate in a tabletop exercise simulating a deployment.”

In a disaster, teams can provide technical experts to assist impacted communities and install emergency generators at critical public facilities until power is restored. State and local officials identify the facilities that will receive the generators and the USACE team works with the 249th Engineer Battalion and contractors to install, operate and maintain them. The team uninstalls and returns the generators after normal power is up again.

“I believe the training was very beneficial especially for those of us who are either new to the team, have never been on a deployment or are just stepping into a different role on the team. “It helped us learn and have a better understanding of what each role or position is in charge of to help the team function as a whole,” said Park Ranger Tiffany Natividad. “I think having this prior knowledge and understanding of what our roles are will better prepare us to deploy so we are more confident in what tasks need to be completed when boots are on the ground.”

It is not easy work. Teams deploy to disaster zones where damage has not yet been cleared and there may not be lodging available nearby. They also deploy for up to 30 to 60 days (depending on the size of the mission assignment) and work at least 12 hours per day, seven days per week.

What would make someone want to be a part of such arduous work, often in austere conditions?

Volunteers said they are driven to help.

“I joined the team because I have gone through natural disasters in the past and understand what a difficult and unsettling time that can be, so I wanted to be able to help other communities in their time of need,” said Natividad.

Seven USACE districts have temporary emergency power missions. Teams are on-call status for disaster response when they are at the top of the rotation list and when they return from a mission, they go to the bottom of the rotation list. Since they are on-call they must remain ready and annual training ensures they are prepared to deploy. During longer missions teams may request assistance from other districts to fill shortfalls so team members must be ready to deploy throughout the year.

And Natividad added that “the professional development and training for the power team and my position on it have only affected my role as a ranger in a positive way by allowing me to use the gained time management and detailed oriented skills in that role.”