By Lori A. Brill, Assistant County Manager and
Mark Goodman, Emergency Services Director
Onslow County, N.C.

With all the military and civilian emergency vehicles from multiple local jurisdictions filling the small parking lot, it might seem to passersby that tragedy has befallen Hilda's, a Jacksonville, N.C., eatery known for home-cooked collards and fried chicken. But the emergency professionals here aren't responding to an incident, they're meeting, like they do every month, to improve the emergency preparedness for the citizens of Onslow County.

On this particular Thursday in April, the locals fill the front of Hilda's, where they speak of the war in Iraq, which has hit close to the heart of this military community, home to over 50,000 Marines and sailors at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and New River Air Station.

Meanwhile, members of Onslow County's Military-Civilian Task Force for Emergency Response (MCTFR, pronounced mick-tiff-er), representing military and civilian emergency response agencies, gather in the back room of Hilda's, where their focus remains on homeland security. The meeting is co-chaired by the Onslow County emergency services director and the head of Camp Lejeune's assistant chief of staff for Installation Safety, Security, Antiterrorism and Force Protection (issatfp), demonstrating the partnership on which MCTFR is built.

Today's discussion centers on the upcoming structural collapse and terrorism training exercise, which is being briefed by Joe Burris of the Office of the State Fire Marshal. What's unique about this upcoming exercise, and those previously held under the mc­tfer umbrella, is the participants. MCTFR shows what a community can do when they break down the barriers to cross-jurisdictional cooperation.

Born in a helicopter crash
Emergency services personnel and members of our armed forces share a similar mission, although their involvement is measured on different scales. At the local level, law enforcement, fire and ems are our first line of defense, while at the national level, the military assumes this role. Both forces share a commitment to protect and serve the public, often at great personal sacrifice. The threat of terrorism on the home front has become the tie that binds, and a partnership between both forces at the local level that combines their expertise, training and resources serves to strengthen this community's response capabilities.

At a time when most communities are facing an increased demand for services and serious budget constraints, finding the means to improve local security has become a major challenge. It's clear that a large-scale disaster, terrorism related or not, would quickly overwhelm most communities' available resources. The formation of local and regional partnerships, such as MCTFR, lays the foundation for a unified response that consolidates all local resources, increasing the community's capabilities substantially.

MCTFR was established in August 1998 as the result of a near tragedy involving a military helicopter. The helo had indicated  it was crashing into a remote forested area. Seemingly everyone in the county with a radio was responding in an uncoordinated way, and several units collided in the thick dust raised on the only dirt road into the area.

MCTFR's mission is to improve public safety countywide by coordinating military and civilian emergency response assets. Developing this program required significant changes in the traditional relationships between the politically sensitive civilian community and the highly regulated military establishment.

The concept has universal application and can be applied to any community residing near a military installation. Although there are many regulatory restrictions regarding military support to civilian authority [Ed.: See also page 42.], Department of Defense Directive 3025.1 authorizes local military commanders to render immediate response to civil authorities to "save lives, prevent human suffering, or mitigate great property damage under imminently serious conditions."

Letters of mutual support can be exchanged between civilian and military emergency services organizations to expedite a clear, efficient response effort. Furthermore, response liability and policy issues can be overcome through mutual aid agreements and letters of intent.

A low-cost solution
Such collaboration also requires little funding. In fact, although MCTFR has no budget, it consistently demonstrates its effectiveness as a force multiplier for emergency services support. Training integration with Marine Corps training facilities, along with cooperation and support through Coastal Carolina Community College and state regional response teams, has resulted in high levels of operational readiness. MCTFR has likewise been integrated into the emergency response planning for a terrorist event, should one occur in the county.

Civilian communities near military installations are demographically unique, in that the majority of the local population consists of active-duty military and their families, as well as a significant population of military retirees. In Onslow County, it's estimated that over 70% of the active-duty military live off base.

This highly mobile active-duty component is not adequately represented in the local census or tax base, which provides the emergency services funding for the community. Put simply, military members who live in the community representing a majority of the consumers don't contribute a sufficient share into the public fund base for the services they consume, creating an inequity within the community.

MCTFR answers this dilemma by bringing local county and military resources together under an approved and accepted system of command and control for a coordinated response to any incident affecting county residents, providing greater emergency support capacity than could ever be achieved through a single entity.

Beyond military and civilian 
What began initially as a partnership between Onslow County Emergency Services, Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and the county's largest municipality, the City of Jacksonville, has evolved into a countywide program that incorporates resources at both the regional and state levels. Since MCTFR's initial charter, the county's other four municipalities have become active members, committing their resources to the ongoing training and preparedness efforts.

MCTFR has an executive steering committee made up of the director of emergency services and homeland security, the Camp Lejeune assistant chief of staff issatfp, and the Jacksonville fire and police chiefs. This committee helps design, develop and schedule our training and exercise programs and coordinate our monthly meetings.

In addition to military and civilian personnel representing fire, ems and law enforcement, MCTFR partners include more than 70 local, regional and state agencies. Active participants, to name a few, include military and civilian healthcare professionals, the North Carolina Department of Forestry, multiple local governments, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Local utility companies and other private entities offering services essential to restoring normalcy following a disaster are also active in the training and planning of local response efforts.

Another partner is the Onslow County Special Incident Response Team, a volunteer emergency service organization that assists the county's emergency services agencies with specialized training and equipment. The team is activated for urban search and rescue, high-angle and technical rescue, dive search and recovery, swift­water rescue, and command and communications support. They also staff MCTFR's mobile command and communications unit when necessary.

With the understanding that a response to a large-scale disaster would quite possibly extend to the regional and state level, training has crossed the county line and become a regional effort, involving North Carolina Emergency Management, some of the state's seven regional hazmat teams, the state Disaster Mortuary Team, the North Carolina Department of Veterinary Services, and even the Charlotte Bureau of the FBI.

In addition, representatives of  the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Newport-Morehead City, N.C., also participate and regularly provide weather training to county responders. Finally, recognizing the important role the media play during emergencies, representatives from the local media also participate in MCTFR, serving as both advisors and role-players during exercises.

Special Agent Dave Martinez, the FBI's regional coordinator for weapons of mass destruction, calls MCTFR "an excellent example of communication, collaboration, and cooperation. By bringing together the first response community as a whole, the entire region is better prepared to respond to a terrorist attack in a coordinated and effective manner."

Exercise, exercise, exercise
MCTFR holds an annual full-scale emergency exercise that begins with a tabletop, with the base and county alternating as the lead planning agency. Much of the planning for these exercises is accomplished by the full membership at the monthly meetings, where each agency identifies its training goals. Joint training exercises ultimately save all the agencies time and money, while fulfilling individual agency training requirements in a setting that closely resembles a live response.

In June 2002, exercise "Regional Response" brought together nearly 1,000 emergency service responders representing nearly 75 military and civilian agencies from within 10 counties in eastern North Carolina. Camp Lejeune hosted the three-day exercise at their Military Operations for Urban Terrain facility, a multi-million-dollar model city designed to train military units in urban warfare.

With terrorism as the central theme, several training opportunities took place simultaneously at various locations. Following a simulated chemical attack on the school gym, nearly 300 role-players were decontaminated, tri­aged, counseled, contained and transported, testing the response capabilities of multiple response agencies. Other events included a hostage situation, a swiftwater rescue and a live fire exercise. Seventeen fire departments worked together to coordinate the mass decon, supported by the state's regional hazmat teams from Williamston and Wilmington and the National Guard 42nd Civil Support Team.

Bookmobile and beverage truck
There are many tangible benefits of this collaboration. In September 2000, MCTFR members unveiled the new Command and Communications Unit. Formerly an abandoned county bookmobile, this mobile emergency operations center was totally stripped and retrofitted with the assistance of the Naval Brig and volunteers from mc­tfer agencies for less than $15,000, a substantial savings over the estimated cost of nearly $300,000 for a commercial model. In less than 12 months, the vehicle was rolled out with state-of-the-art communications equipment, including satellite communications, cell phone capabilities, and all local and state radio systems.

In April 2002, the county augmented its response capabilities with a new Emergency Support Unit, which is used to carry hazmat mitigation supplies to support emergency responders on the scene of local hazmat incidents. mc­tfer coordinated the conversion of a surplus delivery truck, purchased by the county from the local Minges Bottling Co. for a nominal $3,500. As the vehicle's primary corporate sponsor, Mine Safety Appliances of Jacksonville donated $2,500 cash and equipment valued at over $25,000, including six scba and a thermal imager. According to Joey Carter, who chairs the Local Emergency Planning Committee, "With state hazmat assistance more than 90 minutes away, this vehicle bridges the gap by providing much-needed local resources." The lepc oversees local hazmat planning, training and exercises and plays an integral role in MCTFR.

Relationships and awards
Perhaps the greatest benefit of mc­tfer's regular monthly meetings is the creation of relationships across agencies. Participants learn and appreciate each other's roles during an emergency, which enables them to function more effectively as a team.

Joy Branham, executive director of the local American Red Cross, says, "Through our participation in mc­tfer, Red Cross teams have trained, practiced and brainstormed situations that we would never have thought of without that association, and for which we may not have been prepared."

"We appreciate the opportunity MCTFR offers us to meet regularly with members of local governments and Camp Lejeune's first response professionals," says Dan Oliver of Progress Energy, one of the local utility companies. "We get to know each other and build relationships that enhance our teamwork when events demand our best."

MCTFR has received national attention as a model program. The program was a semi-finalist in Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government 2001 Innovations in American Government and was recognized in January 2002 by the North Carolina State Auditor as a "Best Practice" in emergency management.

Recognizing the county's high level of emergency preparedness, FEMA last year selected Onslow County as one of only nine communities nationwide to participate in its Integrated Emergency Management Course. Ninety-three military and civilian emergency management personnel traveled at FEMA's expense to the Mt. Weather (Va.) Conference and Training Center in April 2002 to test and enhance local emergency response plans. According to fema, this was the first group in the course's history to include both military and civilian emergency response agencies working side by side.

Because of the myriad benefits to all the participants, dozens of agencies willingly attend the monthly meetings, where lunch is Dutch treat and the motto remains "It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit."

About the authors
Mark Goodman recently retired as a colonel following 32 years in the Marine Corps, having served in a number of billets dealing with the physical security of nuclear facilities and emergency response at the national level. His last position was as Camp Lejeune's Assistant Chief of Staff Installation, Safety, Security, Anti-terrorism and Force Protection, where he helped bring the MCTFR concept to fruition. He joined Onslow County, N.C., in September 2002 as its emergency services director.

Lori Brill is Onslow County's assistant county manager and public information officer. She has received training in emergency management, including fema's Advanced pio Course at the Emergency Management Institute and Hurricane Preparedness Training at the National Hurricane Center.