5 February 2009

NOTE FROM YOUR BATTALION SERGEANT MAJOR

  The purpose of this newsletter is to keep the members of the 1st battalion informed of what is going on, what will be happening in the future, and information on how to make our battalion better.

  Army Values and South Carolina State Guard Values: One in the same.

  Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage has and in my opinion will always be the way we should act as members of the SCSG and in our personal lives as well.  In these current tough economic times and stresses placed upon us each day, it is easy to forget our core values and religious beliefs in doing the "Right Thing".  It has been said that "Evil triumphs when Good Men do nothing".  In our battalion and other units of the SCSG, I have observed many good men & women by their actions and words personifying SCSG Values every day.  To these men and women "Well Done". 

  SCSG Missions and Skill Sets

    In my last newsletter I discussed the AGR 500 and the SCEMD Emergency Support Function (ESF)  of our missions to support local and state authorities.  In addition, the State All Hazard analysis of the following hazards:  Floods, Hurricanes and Coastal Storms, Severe Thunderstorms, Tornadoes and Lightning, Wildfires, Drought/Extreme Heat, Winter Storms and Freezes, Hail, Erosion, Dam/Levee Failure,  Earthquakes, Sinkholes and Landslides, Tsunami, Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Incident: Fixed and Mobile, Terrorism, and Public Health Emergencies is an excellent document to assist in determining  the likely hood of these events occurring within our Area of Responsibilities (AOR).  

    All of this leads us to missions, skill sets, and Mission Essential Task List (METL).  The cover letter for the 2009 2BDE Master Training Plan section 3.b lists METL for 2BDE as: 

    Section 4 (2nd paragraph) states: The 2BDE will rely on its NCO corps with the necessary skills to train its soldiers.  The core of any skill training is METL (Mission Essential Task List).  All BN Commanders must ensure that METLs are developed for each mission.  So what are our missions?  Our missions primarily fall into 2 general categories: Disasters and Community support.

    In the past, community support has primarily been security type missions such as but not limited to gate and/or barricade security, assisting in parking, and roving security patrols.  

Disaster response on the other hand can include all the tasks/missions stated above plus a wide range of other tasks to assist our communities in times of disaster response.  While I am not an expert on these tasks that could occur, one only has to look at the news when National Guard forces are deployed.  Some of the tasks appeared to be but not limited to: patrolling an area to limit looting; providing traffic control at designated check points to keep non-essential personnel out of the disaster area; providing transportation resources to assist in food, water, evacuation, etc.; providing resources to clear debris from roadways so help can reach those in need; providing personnel for food & water distribution centers; providing emergency medical resources to assist local & state EMS responders; searching light to moderately damaged buildings for missing persons; plus many other tasks that may arise if within our capability & training.

In my next newsletter, I will (or attempt to) discuss what our customers (Sheriffs, Police Chiefs, Emergency Operations Center Directors, etc.) really expect from us when the call out begins. 

More to follow!!!

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Last modified: December 06, 2008