Rio Grande Valley Sector CBP within FEMA Region VI Office of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 1

Rio Grande Valley Sector CBP within FEMA Region VI

Office of Incident Management

Operations Officer Juan A. Garces Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Martin Chavez

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 2

CBP within FEMA Region VI: Mission

To contribute toward the effectiveness of the Customs

& Border Protection mission and preparedness efforts through the coordination of multi-component and inter/intra-agency operational activities including technical standards, contingency planning and training through exercises and readiness assessments.

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 3

• CBP components in Texas, New Mexico,

Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana make up Region VI

• Chief Patrol Agent Rosendo Hinojosa is

currently the CBP Lead Field Coordinator (LFC) within FEMA Region VI

• The LFC and the Deputy Field

Coordinators have a clear area of responsibility to coordinate a CBP regional response during an emergency

CBP within FEMA Region VI Regional Incident Management Construct

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CBP within FEMA Region VI All Threats Preparedness

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Background

• Master Exercise Practitioner, certified by FEMA.
• Have done Emergency Management for the U.S. Border

Patrol for five years (collateral duty).

• Served as a Hurricane Isaac Task Force Commander for

Region VI (September 2012).

• Serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve:

Intelligence, Operations, Training, Logistics and Emergency Response (Support Civil Authorities).

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Why have exercises?

• Enables entities to identify strengths and incorporate them

within best practices to sustain and enhance existing capabilities.

• Provide objective assessments of gaps and shortfalls within

plans, policies and procedures to address areas of improvement.

• Help clarify roles and responsibilities.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

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Why have exercises?

• Virginia Tech shooting; Apr 16, 2007, 7:15 a.m., 32

deaths.

• Sandy Hook Elementary shooting; Dec 14, 2012, 9:30 a.m.,

27 deaths.

• Boston Marathon Bombings; Apr 15, 2013, 2:19 p.m., 3

deaths, 282 injured.

• Cummings Middle School (Brownsville, TX); 1 death
• Alton school bus accident (Alton, TX); 21deaths, 49 injured

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Types of Exercise (Three Types)

• 1. Tabletop (TTX): simulates an emergency situation in an informal,

stress-free environment.

• Participants are usually at the decision making level.
• Gather around a table to discuss general problems and

procedures of an emergency scenario.

• Focus is on training and familiarization w/ roles,

procedures or responsibilities. * Purpose: solve problems as a group

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Types of Exercise (Three Types)

• 2. Functional (FX): simulates an emergency situation in the most

realistic manner possible, short of moving real people and equipment.

• Interactive, designed to challenge the entire emergency

management system.

• Takes place in an Emergency Operations Center.
• Players practice their response to an emergency by

responding in a realistic manner.

• Decisions and actions occur in real time (imitate reality)

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Types of Exercise (Three Types)

• 3. Full-Scale (FSX): is close to the real thing as possible. It’s a

lengthy exercise which takes place on location using the equipment and personnel that would be called upon in a real event.

• Interactive, designed to challenge the entire emergency

management system in a highly realistic and stressful environment.

• Players represent all levels of personnel.
• Achieves realism thru: on-scene actions/decisions, simulated victims, search

& rescue, communications, equipment deployment and actual resource & personnel allocation.

• Requires significant investment of time and effort and resources.

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NIMS

• Establishes flexible incident

management protocols and procedures that all responders — federal, state, and local utilize to conduct and coordinate response actions.

• Sets forth a core set of concepts,

principles, terminology, and

• rganizational processes to enable

effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management at all levels of government.

National Incident Management System

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RGV Sector - Office of Incident Management

Aligned to respond and support any Incident

• f National Significance:
• Terrorism:
• IED
• Chemical
• Biological
• Border Violence
• Natural Disasters:
• Hurricanes
• Floods
• Tornadoes
• Earthquakes
• Pandemics:
• Avian flu
• H1N1
• Mass Migration
• Extreme Weather Conditions:
• Extreme Heat
• Winter Freeze

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Local and Federal Partnership

• Lower RGV & Coastal Bend Council of

Government (COG) Integration

• Homeland Security Advisory Committee

(HSAC)

• Metropolitan Medical Response System

(MMRS) – Ad Hoc Panel Member

• Multi-Agency Coordination Center

(MACC) – (McAllen/Weslaco)

• Cameron County Local Emergency

Planning Committee (LEPC)

• Nueces, Cameron, Willacy, Hidalgo,

Starr & Webb County Emergency Management Coordinators

• Rio Grande Regional Response

Association (RGRRA)

• Regional Communication

Interoperability System Committee

Questions? Comments/Concerns

Operations Officer Juan A. Garces

• ffice 956-289-5621

juan.garces@dhs.gov