Army chief visits newly assigned consequence management force

Army chief visits newly assigned consequence management force

In addressing the 250 assembled service members, Casey underscored the importance of a trained and robust federal military response force.

"There are terrorist organizations out there who are still trying to obtain nuclear or radiological materials," he said. "There is no doubt in my mind that when they acquire them, they will attempt to use them."

He also pointed out that being part of the new force requires a shift in thinking for Soldiers who are accustomed to taking charge. Federal military forces must remember that they work in support of a civilian agency while operating within the United States, he said.

That's one reason that training exercise will require members of the force to coordinate with local governments and interagency organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Col. Jay Larsen, chief of training and exercises for U.S. Army North, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

The previous week of academic instruction served as the framework for commanders and staff to understand and begin to exercise their new mission, Larsen said.

"Today's drill then allowed them to 'what if' their plan, to find conflicts in the battle space, find gaps in their coordination they didn't know existed, and to mitigate those gaps to better execute their plan," he said.

The last event, the mission rehearsal exercise starting Monday, will stress leaders and decision makers at every level - all so they are prepared to respond to the unthinkable.

"We are at war with a global extremist network that is not going away," Casey said in closing. "I hope we don't have to use it, but we need the capability (to respond)."