from this edition - Fort Sam Houston - U.S. Army

PAGE 6 NEWS LEADER MAY 10, 2012SENTRY from P1“We move forward,represent, commandand control the Title 10forces that may respondto any domestic emergency,”Gailes added.“We collaborate, communicateand cooperatewith our state and federalpartners in responseto alleviate the sufferingof the American people,save lives and restoreour local communitiesafter a disaster.”“The assistance weoffer after a hurricanedepends on what help isrequested of us,” said Lt.Col. Gregory Hill, the TF-51 chief of operations,and that could be anywherefrom medical aidto evacuation support.“The training teamconsists of the taskforce, joint enablers andaugmentees,” Hill added.“It is an important opportunityfor those of allranks and military occupationalspecialties tolearn the skills they needto respond effectively ina catastrophic event.”Many personnel, whohave valuable skills tobring to the table, areinvolved in this mission.Spc. Laura Pabst,a geospatial engineerassigned to the 100thEngineer Company, 30thPhoto by Sgt. Matthew AlfordSoldiers with U.S. Army North’s Task Force 51 arrive at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi May 4 for theArdent Sentry 2012 Hurricane Exercise. AS12 will provide an opportunity for the military to practiceworking within the Incident Command System and National Response Framework, a nationwide planused by all first responder agencies.Engineer Battalion, 20thEngineer Brigade, FortBragg, N.C., is one of themany participants in thehurricane exercise with avital job.“We’re here to providesupport for each branchof the mission, from theengineers to aviation,”Pabst said. “We workwith a lot of differentdepartments and agencies.We get data fromthem and we make mapsdepicting infrastructureand flood levels. We canmake damage assessments.”The task force willuse all these personnel,resources and tools toensure they are on trackand in the best positionto support local andstate agencies as neededthroughout the exercise.“We’re ready, andwe’re building to bebetter,” Gailes said.“But understand that ifthe disaster is on thatlarge of a scale, there’sa headquarters that isable to bring forces toalleviate that sufferingand build a foundationfor recovery.“These are greatAmericans,” Gailes saidabout his forces. “We, asthe Department of Defense,fight our nation’swars but we’re alsohere for our citizens andwe’re deeply honored toprovide assistance to thesurvivors of an incident.We want to do everythingwe can to sustainthem and help them.”TEN-MILER from P3Eight minutes later, thesecond runner, Pfc. EmmanualLazu-Rodriguez ofCompany D, 264th Med.Bn., crossed the line.1st Lt. Ariel Richards,an Army Medical DepartmentCenter and Schoolstudent at the Doctorateof Science OccupationalTherapy Program andrunning her first Ten-MilerQualifier, was the firstwoman to cross the finishline, with an overall timeof 1:18:05.“That’s pretty good;it’s my personal best. Iusually run eight,” saidRichard, who has been onactive duty since March1. “I think all my PT haspaid off.”BRAZIL from P3each other in the nextyear,” Trombitas said. “Inthis manner, we gain agreater understanding ofeach army’s capabilitiesand the challenges weface.”Last year the staff talkswere held in Brasilia,Brazil, and both armieshave been conductingvarious events, training,exercises and exchangestogether as a result ofthe agreements made in2011.“The U.S. and BrazilianChief Warrant Officer3 Beofra Butler of U.S.Army North crossed thefinish line 32 seconds laterfor a time of 1:18:37.“I’ve run on about 10other Ten-Miler teamselsewhere and two yearsfor the Fort Sam Houstonteam.”A sprinter and hurdlerin high school andcollege, Butler joined theArmy 18-and-a-half yearsago, and spent two yearson the All Army Trackand Field Team.Butler is a veteran ofthe Boston Marathon andcurrently training to completean ultra marathon(anything over 26.2 miles)in 2013, with a trainingschedule that covers sixdays a week.armies have an enduringrelationship that datesback as far as World WarII, and was strengthenedwhen we worked togetherduring the Haitian earthquakerelief in 2010,”Trombitas said. “TheBrazilian army is a verycapable and a highly professionalforce and thesestaff talks help strengthenour close relationship.”In addition to Brazil,U.S. Army South conductsstaff talks with the armiesof Chile, Colombia and ElSalvador on behalf of theChief of Staff of the Army.