National Guard preparing for hurricanes
Published 2:13 am Friday, March 8, 2019
The Alabama National Guard Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drill will take place Saturday, March 9, at the Joint Force Headquarters building in Montgomery. The hurricane ROC drill starts with the hurricane seven days from making landfall and advances until the notional storm makes landfall. This allows the Alabama National Guard leadership and key unit personnel, using an 80 foot by 50 foot map of Alabama, to visually walk through all the missions and tasks they may have during a hurricane response.
The ROC drill also helps the Guard to synchronize plans with its Alabama Emergency Management partners for a seamless hurricane response. This drill is one of the many ways that the Alabama National Guard trains throughout the year to be prepared to protect the citizens of Alabama when needed and sets the stage for the Alabama guard hurricane exercise that will be conducted in May. The goal of the ROC drill is to assure Gov. Ivey and Maj. Gen. Sheryl Gordon, adjutant general of the Alabama National Guard, and all Alabama citizens that the Guard stands ready to respond and provide immediate assistance during a hurricane.The Alabama National Guard invites any interested media representatives to attend the hurricane ROC drill and help tell the citizens of the state what the Guard does to train and prepare for a disaster response to protect them in their time of need.