Air Force, Army and FEMA train together 7 Dec 2011 | Staff Sgt. Patrick Harrower PRINT SHARE TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Soldiers and representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency came to Travis Jan. 7 to train with the 60th Aerial Port Squadron. The Soldiers and FEMA representatives were trained on how to make their cargo airworthy, so they can respond quickly during an emergency. "The more we practice, the faster we get," said Tech Sgt. Matt Greenwood, 60th APS air transportation standards evaluator. "We perform this training on a regular basis so we can maintain a quick response time to any disaster that may occur." The Army partners with FEMA in regional response teams across the country. When a disaster strikes, the corresponding regional team can respond in a matter of hours. When the team needs to get there by air, they rely on nearby Air Force bases. "It's a great training opportunity," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Juan Hernandez, Army North Region 9 Defense Coordinating Unit operations sergeant. "It's very helpful when the Army and FEMA can come to Travis to train on how to prepare our paperwork, pack our cargo correctly and load cargo onto an airplane." There are only 10 regional teams across the country, so it is important that each team train not only to keep certifications current, but maintain the ability to smoothly transition cargo, said Sergeant Hernandez. In the event of a disaster, FEMA contacts the defense coordinating unit in the Army and it determines how to move forward a response team and its cargo. Army members will then request air mobility through the Air Force, said Sergeant Hernandez. "FEMA is the initial federal response," said Cat Looper, Region 9 Incident Management Assistance Team logistics section chief. "It's important that the Air Force and Army train to do their load planning properly. This enables FEMA to move equipment, response teams and resources to support survivors of a disaster." FEMA is constantly developing capabilities to be at the scene of a disaster in only 12 hours, said Ms. Looper. "It's good to know that when we need airlift, we can come to Travis and get moved out to where we're going," said Ms. Looper.