Fort Hunter Liggett’s resiliency has been put to the test with a two-week power disruption which began on January 13, 2025. Inconsistent power supply and surges caused a post-wide power disruption. Higher headquarters expediently approved emergency funding to mitigate the issue and contracted generators currently power the two on-post housing areas. The installation was powered by generators and the microgrid system until January 27, when PG&E installed two large generators in FHL’s cantonment area. These generators are powering the installation until their off-post equipment repairs are complete.

“It’s amazing to see the professionalism and teamwork of the garrison staff and tenants,” said the Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Trotter. “This incident, without a doubt, proved the resiliency of our community. You know, it truly warms my heart to see our community come together to keep things going.”

Fort Hunter Liggett is very appreciative of support from its sub-installation Parks Reserve Forces Training Area who provided electrical wiring; Camp Roberts, who provided an electrician and temporary lodging; Army Reserve Installation Directorate (ARIMD) who provided emergency funding; and Installation Management Command (IMCOM) Readiness who provided subject matter expertise and funding for authorized dislocated civilians. We also appreciate our Senior Commander Maj. Gen. Tracy Smith and the 63rd Readiness Division for their guidance and support.

A Warming Station was open from January 14-18 at the Religious Support Office’s Wellness Center offering a warm place to work or watch TV, get a hot drink and snacks and charge electronics. The Warming Station was staffed from January 14-17 with Soldiers, to include the Garrison Commander and Command Sergeant Major. RSO also provided an on-call staff duty officer when the facility was not staffed on the 18th.

“People came here to talk, play games and some even brought food to share,” said Garrison Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Todd Golden. “Some wrote personal notes of thanks and encouragement on the whiteboard. This shows the Fort Hunter Ligget Family at its best in caring for each other.”

When it was apparent power could not be restored to the housing areas, the garrison commander issued an authorization for voluntary emergency displacement (evacuation) to enable authorized residents to seek temporary off-post lodging. Army Community Service (ACS) was at the Warming Station to help people complete the required forms for lodging reimbursement. They also helped Soldiers, Army retirees and their families apply for Army Emergency Relief (AER) support.

Without a doubt, the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) are performing above and beyond their normal duties. “They’ve been working from dawn to dusk, on-call on the weekends,” said Director of Public Works, Peter Bosmajian.

“It’s been so gratifying to see the team pull up their socks and get to work. I just can’t express my appreciation enough for the Operations & Maintenance staff’s resilience to work these long hours. If it wasn’t for our microgrid, we’d be in much worst shape. It’s been responding well with some tweaks and doing what is supposed to do.”

The garrison commander conducted a townhall on January 16 to provide an update and answer questions. The event was recorded and the video published on the installation Facebook and YouTube pages. The garrison also worked closely with Cadence Communities to keep residents informed and answer questions.

The Directorate Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s (DFMWR) provided a free community BBQ on January 17 and the re-opening of some recreational facilities lifts morale significantly.

“This was an excellent opportunity to show the community that we are here to support them. We wanted to do something special for the community to help raise morale and nothing does that better than a nice meal,” said DFMWR Director Barry Main.

The Digital Training Facility remained open throughout this incident and serving as the Continuity of Operations site for those employees who did not have power. “We also took this as an opportunity to do our mandatory trainings, especially the Civilian Education System (CES) trainings. More than 20 FMWR professionals diligently trained and worked as a team,” said Main.

Led by the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) plays a critical role during a crisis. The EOC is the hub for all coordination between every garrison directorates and tenant organization to contain the incident, shorten its duration, and speed the recovery. The EOC is staffed with key garrison and tenant staff for information gathering and dissemination and coordinating efforts to mitigate and resolve issues. The garrison commander and command team provide guidance and makes decisions to mitigate or resolve issues.

“The response to this crisis has been a testament to the garrison’s ability to come together as a team in the face of adversity. I’m proud of the role that DPTMS has played in supporting this effort, and I appreciate the professionalism, dedication, and teamwork of the EOC team and the entire Fort Hunter Liggett community in making this response a success,” said DPTMS Director Paul Lewis.

The Public Affairs Office also plays a critical role in providing information to the community, responding to queries and monitoring social media.

This power disruption gave FHL a great opportunity to execute its planned microgrid test on January 20-21, which included software updates and assessment of its functionality. Unexpectedly, the test was extended through January 26, providing additional experience in operating the system and working out the kinks.

“This was a great opportunity to test our system endurance during a real-world situation,” said the Deputy to the Garrison Commander Michelle McLaughlin. “The microgrid system did exactly what it is designed to do, powering our critical facilities during power outages to continue our mission.”

Despite the unforeseen power interruption, the seasoned 80th Training Command TASS Training Center (TTC) cadre and other tenants swiftly mitigated the impact to Soldier training. Daily coordination at the EOC between the garrison and tenants helped mitigate issues such as where Soldiers could continue training, eat meals, take showers, etc.

“Although student morale dipped during the initial days of this situation, our dedicated staff maintained constant communication with course managers and students, demonstrating genuine care and commitment to providing a quality learning environment,” said TTC Training Management Specialist Lance Widner.

The ACS, RSO, Cadence Communities and FHL Housing Office are available for anyone requiring additional support due to inconvenience of this incident. Contact information is available on the garrison website: https://home.army.mil/liggett/index.php