Wisconsin officials, Nicaraguan delegation share emergency management techniques

Date: June 8, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Emily J. Russell
Wisconsin National Guard

The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs hosted a Nicaraguan delegation recently to share emergency management practices, as part of the state partnership program.

Since 2003, the Wisconsin-Nicaragua partnership program has resulted in dozens of exchanges to share knowledge, best practices and experience while building closer ties between the two militaries.

Seven members of the Nicaraguan delegation participated in a May 25-28 visit including Brig. Gen. Mario Perezcassar, the Nicaraguan chief of civil defense. Their primary purpose was to unite Wisconsin Emergency Management and Wisconsin National Guard officials with their counterparts from Nicaragua to discuss future exchange opportunities that can increase both organizations effectiveness in this critical area.

Geographically, Nicaragua is located in a precarious region where natural disaster is a yearround threat. The rainy season can bring hurricanes, floods or mudslides, and there's always the potential for earthquakes from one of the three fault lines that run through the area. Tsunamis resulting from earthquakes and volcanic activity from one of Nicaragua's six active volcanoes are both ever-present threats. And there is always the threat of fire.

Despite the threat, the Nicaraguan Army remains prepared for anything.

"As a national army, we are ready to face and respond to these natural disasters because of their frequency," Perezcassar said. "Our plan for emergency management allows military commanders to organize the different risks they may face in their respective territories, [giving] them the [ability] to utilize their available resources and create their own plan of action, which becomes the basis for each contingency plan."

The visit also included a tour of the Regional Emergency All-Climate Training Center (REACT) at Camp Williams, Wis., a training facility which certifies emergency responders in a variety of catastrophic disaster management techniques.

"We wanted to show the REACT center to the Nicaraguan delegation because they have a great interest in further developing their own search and rescue unit," said Capt. Joe Davison, State Partnership Program coordinator. "Perezcassar recently deployed to Haiti with a platoon of search and rescue personnel and they saw some of the more advanced equipment and techniques used by other search and rescue teams from the U.S. They want to learn some of the advanced techniques that are taught at the REACT center." According to Davison, the goal is to eventually bring soldiers from the Nicaraguan search and rescue unit to the REACT center to increase their ability to respond to emergencies at home.

The Nicaraguan search and rescue team deployed to Haiti for approximately two months with 35 personnel. During that time, they are credited with saving the lives of six Haitians.

"In the area of disaster preparedness and response, Nicaragua has a wealth of experience as they are vulnerable to many environmental threats," said WEM Director Scott Legwold.

During the upcoming 2011 Vigilant Guard exercise - which is scheduled to simulate a major earthquake at the New Madrid seismic zone affecting approximately 19 states in the midwestern, southern and eastern region - the Wisconsin National Guard will respond to several localized "emergencies."

"We will be working with our Nicaraguan partners prior to the exercise and sharing our contingency plans in a variety of scenarios to learn from each other," Legwold said. "During the actual exercise we are planning to have a group of Nicaraguan emergency management officials present to observe the crisis planning and response phases. We anticipate learning a lot from them in the area of disaster preparedness and response."

The Wisconsin National Guard and the Nicaraguan military both have a very similar role in emergency management, supporting their respective civilian emergency management agencies sharing the responsibility to plan and respond to natural disasters and other emergencies that take place within their respective borders.

"Helping Nicaragua develop its capacity to respond to natural disasters may be the most important aspect of our partnership," Davison said. "The world saw the different outcomes between Haiti, a country that had very limited ability to self-respond in a major disaster, versus Chile that took great measures to prepare for major disasters. We want to make sure Wisconsin does everything it can to assist Nicaragua now in preparing for natural disasters that they are sure to face in the future."

"We appreciate the interest you have in our country," Perezcassar said. "You're always there during our most difficult situations and this visit is proof that Wisconsin has an interest in sharing their experiences so we can learn from them when we're affected by natural disasters."