COL Nicole Lucas ’93, Garrison Commander at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), one of the first responders and in command of the incident for the initial crucial hours immediately following the train derailment in Washington state on December 18, 2017. The senior public official responding from DuPont was the mayor of DuPont, Mayor Mike Courts ’81.
The leadership and experience of these two West Pointers was significant for the immediate action, for what was needed. The JBLM golf course was used as an emergency vehicle staging area from which resources could be brought forward in a timely manner. About 20 patients were seen at Madigan Army Medical Center, MPs responded to the incident and the transportation assets were mobilized to help move survivors to a reunification area (to say the least).
The city hall of DuPont was used as the reunification area and under the mayor’s guidance was well prepared for media, support to first responders and an outpouring of community support.
COL Lucas has deployed to Kosovo, Iraq and Kuwait. In one of the many interviews with Mayor COL(R) Courts, the reporter asked, "Mayor, you are very calm, doesn’t this upset you?" He replied "I was at the Pentagon on 9-11, I spent 2 tours in Bosnia and 2 tours in Iraq. I am saddened over this tragedy, but no, this will not upset or frighten me." As you can see, both had plenty of experience in responding to situations like this.