Austin Salutes: Joint Task Force 71

SAN ANTONIO (KXAN) - Texas National Guard soldiers met with local first responders to learn how to better work together.

Austin Salutes Joint Task Force 71.

Members met in San Antonio for a conference hosted by the United States Marine Corps Chemical Biological Incident Response Force.

The Austin Fire Department and Hazmat team also attended, along with the Texas Department of Emergency Management.

"These conferences allow us to be more knowledgeable of our partner agencies abilities, in addition to developing relationships with one another as individuals," said Army Lt. Col. Michael Rockwell of JTF-71.

"These are great for us because we learn what the capabilities are at the state level, the local level and also what that particular FEMA office has to offer," said Marine Col. Peter Ahern, commanding officer for CBIRF.

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