TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency established an Incident Support Base at Tinker Air Force Base's Glenwood Training Area in response to the regions forecasted ice storm Sunday, Jan. 15.
“The ISB was established using an existing inter-agency support agreement between FEMA and the 72nd Air Base Wing,” Col. Stephanie Wilson, the 72nd ABW commander said. The agreement allows FEMA to stage equipment from the sprawling base and use, if necessary, the base infrastructure to deliver, secure and then distribute emergency supplies via air transport or truck.
The staging area was established as a preparatory measure or ‘ISB surge’, according to Robert Johnson, Federal Staging Unit lead, to bring equipment geographically closer to the affected area before an anticipated state of emergency is declared.
Mr. Johnson illustrated the importance of establishing the ISB here by noting, “We’re the first people on the ground. In a lot of situations we have commodities like food, water, cots, blankets, tarps and generators.”
As the weather forecasts shaped up days ahead of the storms which still affect Kansas and the Oklahoma panhandle, a sense of urgency set-in for the FEMA and AF partners alike. “When we are called up, within 24 hours our teams have to deploy to wherever we need to set up an ISB site,” the staging unit lead said.
“The support (from the Air Force) has been fantastic! We have a liaison set-up where we brief them on our needs and then work together to satisfy them,” Mr. Johnson said. “We work together to get the job taken care of. We have a small footprint for this response so this is working out great for us. If we needed more space then we’d be able to move to a larger site.”
“FEMA teams with us because we are able to provide them with areas for operations and parking which are secured along with other necessary support they need,” Colonel Wilson explained. “We are happy to provide space to support FEMA.”
Throughout the day approximately 30 trailers loaded with massive electrical generators were delivered and stored in the Glenwood Training Area. FEMA personnel from California, Florida and Georgia were brought in to track and manage the logistical operation.
Tinker Air Force Base was chosen to host the staging area since Oklahoma City is a major crossroads for two Interstate Highways along with having a robust base infrastructure and 11,000 foot runway and cargo handling facility.
A separate staging area was also established at the Oklahoma National Guard Armory in Norman where additional trailers of electrical generators, water, cots and blankets were staged.