24-09-2009, 01:34 PM
2,500 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen Deployed for G-20 Security
September 23rd, 2009 Via: Lebanon Daily News:
More than 2,500 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen – including several from Lebanon County – are in Pittsburgh for the G-20 summit, set to take place Thursday and Friday.
During the mission, dubbed Operation Steel Kickoff, the Guardsmen will fall under the direction of the U.S. Secret Service and will support local, state and federal agencies. Guard members will serve as a regional response force, augment law-enforcement personnel, provide crowd and traffic control, and help with security.
“Everybody is excited and honored to participate in such a global event,” said Lt. Col. Dale Waltman of Cornwall.
Waltman, who works full-time at Fort Indiantown Gap, is the commander of 1st Battalion, 107th Field Artillery Regiment from New Castle, Lawrence County. For the G-20 Summit, he is commander of Task Force Security, comprising more than 600 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen.
Waltman arrived in New Castle on Sept. 16 to begin assembling the task force, then moved into Pittsburgh on Sunday. Since then, the soldiers and airmen of the task force have been training on a variety of different tasks, he said.
“We just reviewed some basic communication skills, and we worked on some specific equipment skills so everybody has that common knowledge,” he said.
The Guardsmen have also completed civil-disturbance and crowd-control training in anticipation of the thousands of protesters who are expected for the summit.
“We’re not anticipating that nothing is going to happen,” Waltman said. “We’ve been briefed on the possibility that there will be some protesters coming into the city, but they haven’t given us a specific number.”
Also in Pittsburgh for the summit are several members of the Fort Indiantown Gap public-affairs office. Capt. Jay Ostrich of Cornwall said the public-affairs specialists’ primary mission is to do news features on the Guardsmen taking part in the mission.
“Basically what we’re doing is helping to tell the Guard story here,” he said.
Ostrich said the public-affairs specialists could also be called to help with crowd control if needed. If that were to happen, he said, he is confident they would be able to meet any contingency.
“We’ve been side by side with the soldiers as they did their training,” Ostrich said. “We’re well prepared to defend ourselves as well, but hopefully the need doesn’t arise.”
The G-20 is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies: 19 of the world’s largest national economies, plus the European Union.
This week’s summit was originally planned for New York City but was changed to Pittsburgh in May. Pittsburgh was selected by the Obama administration to highlight the city’s economic recovery after the collapse of its manufacturing sector in the latter half of the 20th century.
“Our soldiers and airmen supporting the G-20 Summit demonstrate the relevance, value and accessibility of the Pennsylvania National Guard,” Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard, said in a news release. “When our communities, commonwealth and country need us, we are always there.”
September 23rd, 2009 Via: Lebanon Daily News:
More than 2,500 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen – including several from Lebanon County – are in Pittsburgh for the G-20 summit, set to take place Thursday and Friday.
During the mission, dubbed Operation Steel Kickoff, the Guardsmen will fall under the direction of the U.S. Secret Service and will support local, state and federal agencies. Guard members will serve as a regional response force, augment law-enforcement personnel, provide crowd and traffic control, and help with security.
“Everybody is excited and honored to participate in such a global event,” said Lt. Col. Dale Waltman of Cornwall.
Waltman, who works full-time at Fort Indiantown Gap, is the commander of 1st Battalion, 107th Field Artillery Regiment from New Castle, Lawrence County. For the G-20 Summit, he is commander of Task Force Security, comprising more than 600 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen.
Waltman arrived in New Castle on Sept. 16 to begin assembling the task force, then moved into Pittsburgh on Sunday. Since then, the soldiers and airmen of the task force have been training on a variety of different tasks, he said.
“We just reviewed some basic communication skills, and we worked on some specific equipment skills so everybody has that common knowledge,” he said.
The Guardsmen have also completed civil-disturbance and crowd-control training in anticipation of the thousands of protesters who are expected for the summit.
“We’re not anticipating that nothing is going to happen,” Waltman said. “We’ve been briefed on the possibility that there will be some protesters coming into the city, but they haven’t given us a specific number.”
Also in Pittsburgh for the summit are several members of the Fort Indiantown Gap public-affairs office. Capt. Jay Ostrich of Cornwall said the public-affairs specialists’ primary mission is to do news features on the Guardsmen taking part in the mission.
“Basically what we’re doing is helping to tell the Guard story here,” he said.
Ostrich said the public-affairs specialists could also be called to help with crowd control if needed. If that were to happen, he said, he is confident they would be able to meet any contingency.
“We’ve been side by side with the soldiers as they did their training,” Ostrich said. “We’re well prepared to defend ourselves as well, but hopefully the need doesn’t arise.”
The G-20 is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies: 19 of the world’s largest national economies, plus the European Union.
This week’s summit was originally planned for New York City but was changed to Pittsburgh in May. Pittsburgh was selected by the Obama administration to highlight the city’s economic recovery after the collapse of its manufacturing sector in the latter half of the 20th century.
“Our soldiers and airmen supporting the G-20 Summit demonstrate the relevance, value and accessibility of the Pennsylvania National Guard,” Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard, said in a news release. “When our communities, commonwealth and country need us, we are always there.”
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