National Guard, civilian partners synchronize disaster response at EMAC workshop
This month, state emergency management leadership and National Guard representatives from across the nation gathered in Indianapolis to synchronize interstate disaster response capabilities at the 2026 EMAC Coordinator and National Guard Workshop, sponsored by the National Emergency Management Association\.
“This workshop is a monumental milestone,” said Gen\. Steven Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, in a prerecorded message to attendees\. “It is a first\-ever, national\-level event where state EMAC coordinators and National Guard are training side by side in the EMAC system\.”
In preparing for emergency response, it is easy to focus on FEMA and federal relief funds\. However, nearly all interstate emergency response requests start in the EMAC system, whether the response is ultimately funded through state or federal dollars\.
“EMAC is the legal agreement used between states when requesting or providing assistance,” said Kim Ketterhagen, senior EMAC adviser\. “It could be assistance from first responders, commercial industry or the National Guard\.”
Of the hundreds of assistance requests processed through EMAC annually, nearly 40% are specific requests for the National Guard\. This makes the National Guard the largest single capability supplier under EMAC\.
“The most common requests are for aerial assets like a Black Hawk or a Chinook,” said Ketterhagen\. “They can get to a disaster zone quickly and begin supporting the mission\.”
EMAC focuses on identifying capability gaps or resource shortages within a state that other states can fill\. It goes beyond a generic call for help\. EMAC provides states the ability to request specific resources depending on the nature of the emergency response\.
According to Maj\. Court Centore, a member of the Florida National Guard’s Emergency Advance Team, Florida both requested and provided assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Debby and Helene\.
“In analyzing our resource needs, we submitted four EMAC requests that resulted in receiving personnel and vehicles from neighboring states,” said Centore\. “At the same time, we were able to support three EMAC missions in North and South Carolina with a Chinook and a route clearance package\.”
A major theme of the Indianapolis workshop is refining mission\-ready packages\. MRPs are predesigned and prebudgeted capability sets that are used to rapidly request, offer and deploy state\-level assets\. MRPs are loaded into the EMAC system and visible to every state emergency manager\. They include bundles like engineering support packages for debris clearance or temporary bridge installation and aviation support teams for aerial firefighting or search and rescue\.
“The National Guard has created over 700 mission\-ready packages,” said Nordhaus\. “This builds better connections between our state emergency managers and the National Guard during times of disaster\.”
The work done at the EMAC Coordinator and National Guard workshop ensures that when governors request support, the responding state already knows its legal protections, licensure reciprocity, workers’ compensation details and mission parameters before vehicles leave the armory or helicopters are in the air\. During an emergency response, every minute is critical\. The goal of the planning workshop is to speed up response time by working through bureaucratic and logistical hurdles before an emergency\.
“We don’t want the first time we exchange business cards to be on the edge of a collapsed bridge,” said Ketterhagen\. “Coordination is key\. Getting emergency managers and the National Guard together like this is vital to ensuring a rapid response\.”
As disasters grow more complex and multistate incidents increase in frequency, joint preparation between civilian emergency management agencies and National Guard planners remains vital to resilience and response\.
For the service members and civilians attending the EMAC workshop, the message is clear: The most critical link in disaster response is the relationship established before the call for help goes out\.
“This workshop is our opportunity to build relationships, align our capabilities and identify gaps before the crisis hits,” said Nordhaus\. “The trust you build here will truly save lives tomorrow\.”
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Photo Caption 1:
Maj\. Court Centore, anAirmanin the Florida National Guard, speaks at the 2026 EMAC Coordinator and National Guard workshop in Indianapolis onAug\. 12 and 13\. The workshopprovided an opportunity forEMAC managers and National Guard representatives from across the country to build relationships and refinebest practicesin emergency response\.
Photo Caption 2:
An EMAC Coordinator and Indiana National Guard representative work together during an exercise at the 2026 EMAC Coordinator and National Guard workshop in Indianapolis onAug\. 12 and 13\. The workshopprovided an opportunity forEMAC managers and National Guard representatives from across the country to build relationships and refinebest practicesin emergency response\.
Photo Caption 3:
An EMAC Coordinator and Texas National Guard representative work together during an exercise at the 2026 EMAC Coordinator and National Guard workshop in Indianapolis onAug\. 12 and 13\. The workshopprovided an opportunity forEMAC managers and National Guard representatives from across the country to build relationships and refinebest practicesin emergency response\.
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