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 Guard Soldiers share, discuss capabilities with active duty counterparts By Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Griego
                Texas National Guard
 FORT HOOD, Texas - When disaster strikes, first responders and military support units must work quickly and decisively to contain the incident. This requires coordinated efforts and effective communication to ensure these disparate agencies present a unified force to engage the catastrophe. In preparation for such an encounter, the Texas National Guard's Joint Task Force 71 met with their active duty counterparts at Fort Hood to share what the two teams can bring to the chemical defense fight. "We discussed their capabilities and how they might be able to assist us in our DSCA mission," said Craig Parkhill, Defense Support to Civil Authorities coordinator for Joint Task Force 71. "We also discussed some of the unique problems or challenges that they might find at a DSCA mission. It gave us some good indications on what we have and what they have and how we can bring those together." The 2nd Chemical Battalion, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, consists of three chemical companies and a headquarters detachment. As the active component of the Army family, their mission differs from that of the National Guard because it is federal and designed to engage overseas conflicts. The homeland response force mission of Joint Task Force 71 is one of direct support to civilian agencies and the first responders. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Cox, commander for the 2nd Chemical Battalion, said, "I believe there are lots of training opportunities and lots of opportunity to grow together as two organizations that are attempting to achieve the same end states and share some of the best practices. In a large-scale event, we will probably need all of our resources to be able to interoperate between each other. "I think that it's great that we have the opportunity to talk to each other." The two Army units did more than talk as they spent all of Jan. 26 showcasing capabilities and establishing a long-term communication plan in the event they ever need to work alongside each other. "We got to see their equipment, see how they operate," said Army Maj. Mikel Sledge, operations officer for JTF 71. "We also saw how we were similar in the make-up and compilation of their decontamination line, for instance." A key discussion point of the day's tour was shared training opportunities between the two chemical units, and other military assets with whom JTF 71 has met recently. "We can send Soldiers to Marine training," Sledge said. "We can send people up to active duty training up here at Fort Hood, and so that opens up a lot of opportunities for us in the future." While JTF 71 had much to learn from its active duty sister unit, it also has much to offer in terms of bridging the gap between the active Army and civil authorities. "We bring to them a closer relationship with the civilian counterparts," said JTF 71 commander, Army Col. Lee Schnell. "At the end of the day," Schnell said, "it's about saving lives. It's about what we can do for the first responders."
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