Salvation Army Supports Emergency Management Exercise in Virginia

Volunteers and a mobile feeding unit from the National Capital Area Command were deployed to the annual Virginia Emergency Support Team Exercise (VESTEX) in Stafford County, Virginia, yesterday. According to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the exercise is intended to prepare the Commonwealth of Virginia for potential threats by measuring current capabilities, policies, and procedures against the requirement to properly mitigate, respond to, and recover from man-made and natural disasters.

Sponsored by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA Region III, FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI), and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), the annual statewide drill simulates a response to a large-scale disaster. The drill included the participation of local governments, affected state agencies, public utilities, law-enforcement agencies, and other entities as determined by the Governor.

The Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services canteen and a team of volunteers served breakfast and lunch during the full scale VESTEX exercise. The team was led by The Salvation Army Fairfax Va. Corps officer Major Donald Wilson and The Salvation Army National Capital and Virginia Division's new Emergency Disaster Director John Conklin, who were onsite for the Stafford County emergency management exercise.

According to the 2017 report, the exercise seeks to capture areas of strength and improvement that will be used to improve state, local, and regional response plans, policies, and procedures and develop future training and exercise efforts in Virginia.