“Our goal is to test the plan for processing assets that would be transported to or from the state following a major disaster,” said Doug Hoell, director of DEM. “We want to be sure we can quickly and efficiently get people food, water, medical help and supplies they need when they will need it most.”

The four-day exercise will be held at the Forsyth County Fairgrounds and Education Building adjacent to the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. Area residents can expect to see dozens of heavy trucks, fuel tankers, fire trucks, ambulances, law enforcement, military vehicles and other such equipment rolling in and out of the area.

On Saturday, June 20, the advance party will arrive at the fairgrounds to scout and plan the staging area for people and equipment. A crew of about 75 will begin setting up the communications system, portable showers and office equipment to accommodate the hundreds of incoming personnel. Staff from multiple agencies arrive on Sunday and begin to set up a satellite office for managing the assets. They also will position flood lights, fork lifts and other equipment to establish the distribution system for incoming assets. On Monday, the joint reception, staging, onward movement and integration site, known as JRSOI, is fully operational and staffed and begins to receive and distribute supplies and equipment sent from other states. The morning of the fourth day (June 23) of the exercise, the group will demobilize and deconstruct the site.

During or following a disaster, state emergency management officials can request to borrow or use resources from other states as part of a national emergency management assistance compact. For instance, during the Midwest flooding last summer, North Carolina sent a field hospital and supporting medical staff to Indiana. In 1999, the state received military police and National Guard troops to help with security following Hurricane Floyd.

The JRSOI must be able to process, credential, feed, and house between 250 to 500 people daily to effectively manage the need for and use of supplies during the course of the event.

The training exercise will include 350 N.C. National Guard troops and another 120 troops from the South Carolina National Guard. In addition, more than 100 fire, police, sheriff and rescue personnel from Guilford and Forsyth counties also will participate.

The $50,000 training exercise is being completely funded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Emergency Management Association.

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Media Note: A media briefing on the resource tracking exercise will be held at 3:00 pm Sunday at the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Fairgrounds Education Building.

Contacts for the training exercise: Brian Haines, N.C. Forest Resources, 919-218-9728 August Vernon, Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Emergency Management, 336-661-6440 Lt. Matt Boyle, N.C. National Guard, 919-664-6242