9/1/2010 - TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- Officials from the Air Forces Northern National Emergency Preparedness Directorate are deploying emergency preparedness liaison officers to provide assistance to emergency relief forces as required as Hurricane Earl and Tropical Storm Fiona approach the U.S. coastline.
The EPLOs, in concert with defense coordinating officers deployed from U.S. Northern Command, will be supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives to advise officials from states and regions on Air Force capabilities available to provide Defense Support of Civil Authorities if needed and requested.
The EPLOs have deployed to the FEMA Region II Regional Response Coordination Center in New York City; the FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington D.C.; the New York State Emergency Operations Center in Albany, N.Y.; the New Hampshire Joint Forces Headquarters in Concord, N.H.; the FEMA Region I RRCC in Maynard. Mass.; and the FEMA Incident Staging Base at Westover Air Reserve Base in Westover, Mass.
Air Force EPLOs also were deployed to Puerto Rico while Hurricane Earl impacted that area.
Air Force EPLOs are senior Air Force Reserve officers and are subject matter experts in state and regional disaster response plans. They are geographically assigned to each state and the 10 FEMA Regional Coordination Centers and come from a wide range of career fields including air operations, logistics, medical, security forces and public affairs.
