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FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLIC RELEASE:

Texas State Guard to Conduct Disaster Exercise in Van Zandt County

AUSTIN, Texas (May 27, 2015) – Members of the 19th Regiment, Texas State Guard, in support of Van Zandt county, will conduct a joint disaster preparedness exercise in various locations across the county, June 5-7, 2015. 

The three-day event will involve approximately 100 soldiers from Dallas, Greenville and Kilgore with support from local officials and organizations in the area. The disaster preparedness exercise will be held in several locations across Van Zandt County, to include Canton and Big Sandy. The training is designed to strengthen the regiment’s emergency response capabilities by exercising during an emergency with operations in multiple displaced locations.

Col. Robert Hastings, commanding officer of the 19th Regiment, explained that exercises like this “are critical to ensure that emergency response units like the Texas State Guard are trained and ready when the citizens of Texas need them.”

“This exercise will replicate as realistically as possible the scenarios that could occur should a major hurricane and associated weather hazards strike the Texas coast driving evacuations from coastal communities to North Texas,” said Hastings. “The TXSG soldiers will establish shelter operations, register and track storm evacuees, conduct emergency communications, operate supply points of distribution, and conduct urban search and rescue and wide-area damage assessments.” 

The Texas State Guard is the state's volunteer military agency; trained, organized and ready to respond when a disaster strikes and Texans need help.  The Texas State Guard is comprised of more than 2,000 volunteers organized into four components – Army, Air, Medical and Maritime – with individual units assigned throughout the state.

In recent years, the Texas State Guard has been called to state active duty for hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and wildfires. TXSG is the lead military component for Operation Lone Star in the Rio Grande Valley – the state’s annual humanitarian medical mission – and provides support to the state’s annual Oral Rabies Vaccination Program and the previous East Texas Medical Outreach in Van.

Texas State Guard personnel train one weekend each month and attend a four-day annual training exercise every year.  

For more information about the Texas State Guard visit www.txmf.us.

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The mission of the Texas Military Forces (TXMF) is to provide the Governor and the President with ready and trained forces in support of the citizens of Texas and State and Federal civil/military authorities at home and abroad.

The Texas Military Forces are commanded by the Adjutant General of Texas, the state's senior military official appointed by the governor, and is comprised of the Texas Military Department (formerly the Adjutant General's Department), the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG), the Texas Air National Guard (TXANG), the Texas State Guard (TXSG) and the Domestic Operations Command (DOMOPS).

For more information about the Texas Military Forces visit our Website at www.txmf.us.