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Navy Prepares Now for Future Emergencies

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070830-17
Release Date: 8/30/2007 6:22:00 PM

By Jesse Leon Guerrero, U.S. Naval Forces Marianas Public Affairs

SANTA RITA, Guam (NNS) -- The Navy has taken extra steps to protect its Sailors and families in the event of a natural or man-made catastrophe after holding a region-wide exercise on Guam Aug. 21-23.

Muster Exercise (MUSTEREX) Guam 2007, the first of its kind for the island, began with modified heavy weather briefs on a simulated super typhoon.

Dozens of commanding officers, executive officers and other Navy personnel of various ratings and ranks attended the briefs, which included question and answer sessions about the anticipated disaster and the Navy’s conditions of readiness (COR) levels.

Simulating the super Typhoon Pongsona, which devastated Guam in December 2002, the scenario involved the island and the Navy living without power, water, telephone, and Internet services.

Since the normal methods of mustering were shut down, each command had to account for their personnel by performing a hand-muster after COR 4 was established.

(Condition of Readiness 4 allows for travel to and off the Navy’s bases after they have been deemed safe to reopen after a base-wide emergency).

Following the briefs, the command representatives performed their musters and returned with their lists for review, said Yeoman 2nd Class Daniel Trierwiler, of Navy Region Marianas.

For muster purposes, several categories of Navy family members defined by Navy Region Marianas instruction 3001.02 include Navy active duty and reserve members, family members, government employees, and specific contractors identified by each command.

As a co-coordinator of MUSTEREX, Trierwiler said it was a great opportunity to understand the challenges posed by a potentially similar emergency.

“It opened our eyes,” said Trierwiler.

One of the objectives of the exercise was to ensure that Sailors have updated information including family members’ data.

The exercise was designed to capitalize on the lessons learned by the Navy and Federal agencies that had difficulty accounting for their personnel when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and much of the Mississippi coast and parts of Alabama in 2005.

Cmdr. Joanne Reese, total workforce manpower officer for Navy Region Marianas and MUSTEREX co-coordinator explained that although each command’s leadership is responsible for ensuring its workforce, family members and ombudsman understand the Navy’s muster policies, the individual Sailors also have an equally important responsibility.

“They have to get in touch with their command as soon as possible after a disaster,” said Reese.

Part of the reason for that is to find out what kinds of assistance the command and other Navy sponsored services, such as Fleet and Family Support Center, can provide to them.

“Plus, it lets the Sailor, who is deployed, know his command is actually looking out for his family, to make sure they are OK after a typhoon or a man-made terrorist event,” said Trierwiler.

For additional consideration, Reese advised Sailors to update their Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System information online or at Personnel Support Detachment Guam, and access the Disaster Muster Tool found at the Bureau of Naval Personnel Online Web site at https://www.bol.navy.mil.