Urgent Provider 2014 Prepares Sailors to Respond to Crises

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Erica Gardner, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs

MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- Active and Reserve Sailors from multiple East Coast commands gathered at Naval Station Mayport, Oct. 16, for Urgent Provider 2014, a three-day humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise hosted by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet.

The third annual event, which included nearly 50 participants, was designed to build and enhance the skills necessary to support the planning efforts of combatant commanders and fleet commanders responding to crises.

"How many of you think 4th Fleet will be asked to respond to a natural disaster between now and say 10 years from now?," Rear Adm. George Ballance, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet, asked the participants. "Can anyone tell me when?"

"Exactly," he said. "So, we have to be ready."

"You'll never know when the call is going to come or to what degree you'll have to respond," said Ballance, who was assigned to U.S. 7th Fleet in 2011 when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and follow-on tsunami devastated parts of Japan.

For Urgent Provider, instructors from the Naval War College's Assist and Assess team presented a scenario involving a category 5 hurricane in Central America, an oil spill and the need to evacuate U.S. citizens.

With guidance from the instructors on the Navy planning process, the participants worked through the resulting problems on four operational planning teams (OPTs).

The intent was to ignite productive conversations among the OPT members, said Capt. Joey Dodgen, who commanded the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Reserve unit until Oct. 15 and coordinated the exercise.

"In contrast to other training exercises, this event minimizes the amount of instruction and maximizes the practical exercises," Dodgen said.

"[Participants] are learning more by doing, establishing relationships with their peers and creating team synergy from the start," he said.

Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Thomas, the operations officer for Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) Houston, described the development of ideas as "eye-opening."

"The training is hands-on," he said. "This is more beneficial than watching a PowerPoint presentation for the duration of the course."

In addition to the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet active and reserve staffs, including NR U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Detachment A, units represented at Urgent Provider 2014 were Navy Reserve (NR) Commander, 3rd Fleet Joint Force Maritime Commander; NR Commander, 3rd Fleet Maritime Air Operations; NR Expeditionary Strike Group 3; NR Commander, 5th Fleet Maritime Operations Center; NR Commander, Naval Forces Europe-Africa/6th Fleet Detachment 802; NR Commander, 7th Fleet Detachment Newport; and NR Office of Naval Research Science and Technology Detachment 105 and NCAGS Houston.