A military base located off Bee Cave Road received a rare certification last week that make it a key force in assisting Texas and other states during natural and man-made emergencies.

The Texas National Guard’s Standing Joint Interagency Task Force base, located between the Rob Roy neighborhood and the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church on St. Stephen’s School Road received national Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Packagecertification July 20 in Volk Field, Wis. It makes it one of only 17 units in the U.S. qualified to help states locate, extract and treat victims in a contaminated environment during natural and man-made major emergencies. The local brigade is the only CERFP certified in FEMA Region 6, making it the military response unit for Texas and all its neighboring states.

“We are part of the state’s response to an emergency event,” said Lt. Col. Michael Cain. “We focus on support to the state in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. Texas military forces have a long history of emergency response. We are trained to respond to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and other events. Our motto is, ‘Always ready, always there.’ It’s more than a motto to us.”

In the three years since the SJIATF evolved at the Westlake location, members of the brigade have taken that motto to heart. They’ve provided search and rescue teams for hurricanes Dolly, Edward, Gustaf and Ike. Most recently, they provided critical aid in the major summer flooding of the Rio Grande Valley.

BELOW: The Westlake-based Texas National Guard’s Standing Joint Interagency Task Force training exercise was part of their Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package certification program.