Soldiers to Use GPS Next Hurricane Season
Ashlea Sigman
2009/02/07
Texas State Guard, 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment soldiers train with GPS devices to be used during hurricane season.Photo by KBTX - News - Bryan / College Station Texas
GPS devices are becoming more and more common. Now, the Texas Military will be using them after a disaster.
The 2nd Battalion, 8th regiment of the Texas State Guard, based in Bryan, trained at Lick Creek Park in College Station Saturday.
Working with a program developed by the Columbia Geospatial Center, the soldiers learned how to better respond after natural disasters, using GPS.
“Like downed power line or injured personnel or hazardous waste and when we’re done making all of our points, we can upload it to a computer and then print it on a map so emergency responders can see exact spots where the problem areas are,” said Lt. Joseph Ferguson.
The technology was used by a small group after Hurricane Ike, and will be more widely used this coming hurricane season.
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