Photo By Master Sgt. Raymond Drumsta | A mock disaster victim shouts at New Jersey National Guard troops during a disaster...... read more read more
Subscribe
ORISKANY, N.Y. - New Jersey National Guard troops held the line against a mock mob of suffering citizens during a disaster readiness exercise here in early May, and they’re now part of the regional Homeland Response Force (HRF).
"They were pretty rough," said Sgt. Giovanni Toro, a member of the New Jersey Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry and Elizabeth, New Jersey, resident. "They were trying to push right through the line."
About 200 Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, along with other New Jersey Army and Air National Guard troops, make up the Casualty And Security Element (CASE) of the HRF for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region II.
New York and Puerto Rico Army and Air National Guard units make up the other HRF elements that are needed in a disaster: search and extraction, decontamination and medical.
Each of the nation’s FEMA regions has an HRF, made up of National Guard Soldiers and Airmen.
The HRF’s command and control element is the New York Army National Guard's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), based in Syracuse. The successful five-day exercise enabled the CASE and other elements to pass their evaluation and take over the HRF mission.
The exercise took place at the New York State Preparedness Training Center, located on the 723-acre former Oneida County Airport here. Troops lived in a tent city on the site.
Along with besting evaluation standards, troops endured days of high winds, frigid temperatures and rain. It was in the 60s when they left New Jersey for New York, said 2nd Battalion member Spc. Claudio Da Silva, of Kearny, New Jersey.
“We got here, and it was nothing but cold, rain and wind," he said.
During a disaster, CASE troops form a perimeter so other HRF teams can do their jobs, said 2nd Lt. Alexis Rodriguez, a CASE platoon leader and Paterson, New Jersey, resident. They also control access to the decontamination and medical areas, and ensure victims don't cross the perimeter before being assessed by medical personnel, said Toro.
The troops have been training for the mission, during drill weekends and extra duty days, since September 2013, Rodriguez said. The Soldiers had to learn hazardous material procedures and take federal emergency management courses, added Staff Sgt. Leandro Enriquez, of Paterson, New Jersey.
The Soldiers used some of their infantry skills - like adaptability and troop-leading procedures - for the CASE mission, Rodriguez and Enriquez explained.
"We're used to providing security," Rodriguez said.
Many of the New Jersey Soldiers were activated for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy, Enriquez recalled. They guarded empty homes and comforted distraught citizens, he added.
"They worked with local fire departments and police departments, and assisted them with anything they needed," he explained.
That experience would tell during the exercise, which took place in and around a simulated disaster area: a mass of junked vehicles, concrete slabs and culverts referred to here as the "rubble pile." The CASE Soldiers formed their line and other teams searched the rubble pile for non-ambulatory patients.
"The CASE has to maintain this line, no matter what happens," said Sgt. 1st Class Tom Yanero, an exercise evaluators from Flatwoods, West Virginia.
Other mock victims - made up with a variety of simulated bloody wounds and injuries - emerged from the ruins and pressed the line, moaning and often howling for medical attention, food, water and other things. That realism took him by surprise, Da Silva said.
"It was a lot more stressful than I thought it would be," he said. "People actually came out screaming."
But the troops had been trained to remember that the mock victims were civilians and not terrorists, Toro and Da Silva said. They'd also been trained show empathy toward civilians, and to question them in order to develop intelligence about the disaster situation, they added.
"It takes a lot more to deal with civilians," Da Silva said. "These are Americans trying to get help, so we have to be very sympathetic toward them."
Like the other team members, the CASE troops were clad in protective boots, gloves suits and gas masks. The masks muted their voices, covered their faces and made the mission more difficult.
"People can't see your expressions," Da Silva explained. "You're trying to say something in a nice way, but they really can't see that."
One of the roleplayers pretended to incite a riot, Da Silva recalled.
"Luckily my sergeant came and helped out with that," he said. "I thought I was prepared for that, but I wasn't."
But with practice, they learned to reassure the civilian role-players and calm them down, he added.
The troops also used a loud speaker, which emits a high-pitched noise, to get the role-players attention and give them direction, Toro said.
“They passed, and they did a good job,” Yanero said.
The 27th IBCT and other elements assumed the Region II HRF mission from the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division and other units, which had been performing the mission since 2012.
"I believe they did pretty well," Toro said of the New Jersey troops. "They controlled the situation. Now, if it really happens, they'll have a better idea of what to expect."
Enriquez agreed.
"It helps the younger Soldiers see the importance of being in the National Guard," he said.
The troops came to the exercise armed with motivation, Rodriguez said.
"We work hard," he said. "We do what we have to do."
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2014 18:47 |
| Story ID: | 129241 |
| Location: | ORISKANY, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | FLATWOODS, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | KEARNY, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | LEBANON, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 206 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, A strong CASE for disaster readiness: New Jersey National Guard troops face tough crowd, by MSG Raymond Drumsta, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
