By Staff Sgt. David C. Kirtland, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office
NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana National Guard and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness along with multiple state and local agencies, participated in the 2025 statewide disaster response exercise, Cajun Jumanji, held April 8–10 in Baton Rouge.
The functional exercise tested the State’s hurricane response readiness across mission areas–prevention, protection, mitigation, and response–while simultaneously navigating a historic transition: the integration of GOHSEP into the LANG structure.
Despite the organizational changes, the Cajun Jumanji exercise proceeded as planned, demonstrating the State’s capacity to manage large-scale emergency operations. The scenario simulated a rapidly intensifying Category 1 hurricane expected to strengthen to a Category 3 or 4 at landfall, testing everything from evacuation to mass rescue procedures.
“We are already hard at work with the GOHSEP staff finding places where we can reduce waste and gain efficiency,” stated Brig. Gen. Jason Mahfouz, GOHSEP interim director, in opening remarks. “This exercise is a great opportunity for us to get better together.”
One of the core objectives was testing command and control systems through the WebEOC platform. Units demonstrated the ability to receive and acknowledge critical incident data within 10 minutes of activation, enabling real-time communication across the force. Resource deployment procedures were also validated.
Emergency shelter operations were tested as well, with fully functional simulated shelters established within three hours of activation. These were stocked with food, water, and medical resources to assist displaced residents.
Mass evacuation efforts were coordinated with local authorities and transportation providers, successfully relocating 90% of simulated residents from high-risk coastal areas within six hours of the evacuation order.
Search and rescue operations formed another critical component. SAR teams reached 90% of affected areas within six hours and completed initial sweeps within 24 hours.
To ensure the public remained informed, the agencies supported the dissemination of emergency messages across multiple platforms—including TV, radio, SMS and social media platforms with a 100% message delivery success rate during the simulation.
The core mission of the LANG and GOHSEP—to protect and serve the people of Louisiana—remains unchanged.
