Alaska's Army recently launched a mobile headquarters unit called the Early Entry Command Post. The EECP is designed to allow the Army to put a command and control center right in the middle of a crisis or disaster and work with its main headquarters in real time.
Essentially when the Army has to go somewhere —whether it's for a humanitarian mission, peacekeeping or war — it can literally pick up and go. The unit's job is to feed real-time information to the head of the Army's Pacific Theater in Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
“The big part of the EECP is the communications structure,” said Col. Oscar Hall, the headquarters' chief of operations. “It can reach back and provide information about what's really going on, on the ground, for the commander.”
The Army operates on three command post levels in the Pacific Theater. There is the main command post, which is based in Hawaii and oversees the whole theater; the second level is an operational command that is somewhat mobile, but is a large-scale command; and the early entry command that is typically small and agile. The third is the new EECP, a dedicated group that moves in to assess exactly what the Army needs before sending in big units or setting up a full-scale operation.
Imagine if there was a hurricane. The Marines might be the first on the scene providing immediate care. The Army would set up its EECP and assess what else is needed to take control. They would work with the Marines' assessment of the situation, talk to the locals and send that information to the commander at the main headquarters in Hawaii. The main headquarters processes the information — such as where to get food or supplies, or what units they can send to help. The EECP stays in place until the situation is under control and other support arrives.
The EECP concept began in 2004 and is now in the test phase as the Army adds personnel. The Army saw a need create a more mobile army that can be dropped in where soldiers are needed on the ground.
The structure of the EECP system has been approved by the national command and is being used around the world by other U.S. Army theaters. The Pacific version will be deployed and tested by Alaska soldiers at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. in a few weeks. Although Fort Richardson's EECP would mostly work in the Pacific Theater, it could be dispatched anywhere in the world if its needed.
“It's a lot of equipment, a lot of wires and boxes and stuff like satellite dishes,” said Hall. “But it's those critical pieces of equipment that allow us to do real-time, instant feedback to the mission commander and to tell him what is going on, on the ground, and what is needed.”
EECP's chief of operations, Col. Mark Blair, said Alaska is ideal for the EECP program because of its airfields and ports. Also, he said, Alaska is a strategic location.
Although Alaska's Army commander is based in Hawaii, the Army said it's easier to get a plane filled with personnel and equipment out of Alaska because of Fort Richardson's affinity to Elmendorf Air Force Base and because Alaska is closer to many destinations in the Pacific Theater than Hawaii.
The EECP can also be mobilized before a foreseeable disaster strikes. If, for instance, the Army knows a hurricane is going to hit a certain island, Hall said, they can move in and wait for the commander to say, “Go.”
And depending on the size of the crisis, if a large or small presence is needed, the Army can set up the EECP depending on the scale of the problem.
Blair said the program will be operational by December 2008 and will be used in a military exercise in Japan.
