SCEMD to Host Military Installations Seminar

Representatives of resident military installations within South Carolina will meet on Thursday, February 16, with state and county emergency managers as part of a disaster preparedness seminar hosted by the S.C. Emergency Management Division. Participants will discuss best practices and lessons learned during the response to Hurricane Ian and other emergencies involving mutual support of federal military installations and local governments.

Representatives of active duty, Reserve and National Guard components have registered to attend the event hosted by the South Carolina Emergency Management Division of the Adjutant General’s Office.  The seminar will include remarks by Major General Van McCarty, Adjutant General for South Carolina, and Kim Stenson, SCEMD Director.

“The wide-range emergencies that we prepare for and respond to do not stop at the gates of a military installation,” Stenson said, “This seminar is an opportunity to discuss how military and local emergency plans are unified during responses to disasters and emergencies such as Hurricanes Ian and Matthew as well as the historic flood event that affected South Carolina in 2015.”

Also included on the agenda is a preview of the upcoming state full-scale disaster preparedness exercise, scheduled for March 7-9 this year, which will test the state and local capabilities to respond to the consequences of a major disaster.

In addition to the S.C. National Guard and the S.C. State Guard, which play significant roles in emergencies and disasters, invited military personnel include members of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers from installations including Fort Jackson in Columbia, Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, Marine installations at Parris Island and Beaufort, Navy and Coast Guard installations in Charleston, and military units at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center in Greenville.  Federal presence also will include the Federal Emergency Management Agency Defense Coordinating Officer.