Department of Defense holds DSCA exercise during LA Fleet Week

LOS ANGELES -- U.S. service members worked with Los Angeles city employees as part of a Defense Support for Civil Authorities (DSCA) exercise to prepare for disasters in the region as part of Los Angeles Fleet Week 2024.

The exercise, which simulated an atmospheric river event that flooded parts of Los Angeles, combined Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Coast Guard experts with Los Angeles emergency management personnel, key players from 14 city departments, and the Los Angeles Police Department. The DSCA aspects of Los Angeles Fleet Week demonstrate the unique capabilities of Navy-Marine Corps integration as the world’s premier crisis response force.


“Fleet Week is a big impression, with a lot of military coming in,” said U.S. Army Col. Charles McPhail, the Defense Coordinating Officer for DCE Region 9. “It allows this kind of event. It becomes an exercise program of multiple events leading up to this kind of major table exercise. The Department of Defense has the assets and experience to deploy necessary relief personnel and resources to all corners of the globe at a moment’s notice—there is no agency better prepared to respond in times of crisis.”

Humanitarian assistance and disaster response are core military capabilities, and they are always conducted in a supporting role to assist other government agencies. Because of this, civil authorities may get help from the Department of Defense during a disaster as local, state, and other federal resources are exhausted.

“We're very resource rich in the city,” said Gary Singer, the assistant general manager for Los Angeles Emergency Management Department. “But we found that during catastrophic events, those resources would be tapped out pretty soon. The county is also resource rich, but they have 88 cities to take care of and help out. The state has 58 counties in the entire state, so what the military has in terms of resources trumps all of us.”

Due to the influx of military personnel and assets for Fleet Week, community leaders and military disaster experts saw this as the perfect time to refine emergency response plans and practice.

“We could just be bringing in a bunch of ships and have the Sailors running around, having a great time, and getting a pat on the back and being thanked for their service,” said McPhail. “But the communities use this as an opportunity to actually work with the military and work with the different services. Especially in places like Southern California where there is a big threat of a natural disaster.”

As part of the tabletop exercise, a simulated delivery of critical cargo took place, with a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter delivering simulated baby food to the Fleet Week Expo at the USS Iowa museum.

“We’re practicing mass food distribution and mass water distribution to the public in the event of a disaster, where those services are cut off,” said Singer. “We bring in the military, the county, the state, and the locals to all talk about how that would work in an actual emergency.”

The supplies were then taken by convoy to the exercise command center at Ken Malloy Park. At the park, civil and military leaders worked together to game out scenarios and see demonstrations of the U.S. Navy Amphibious Construction Battalion 1’s capabilities to purify water in a disaster. Other demonstrations included a U.S. Marine Corp Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, which would be used to transport supplies and personnel in the event of a disaster, and a Ghost Robotics Vision 60 unmanned ground vehicle from Verizon Business Services, which could be used to enhance communications and help perform other tasks.

The exercise will continue this week with discussions and seminars on capabilities, planning, and analysis of what was discovered during the tabletop exercise.