Photo By Devon Bistarkey | Army Reserve members of the 414th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and...... read more read more
CAMP ATTERBURY, Indiana. (April 10, 2018) – For the next 19 days, nearly 5,200 military and government civilian personnel will participate in U.S. Army North’s annual disaster response exercise Vibrant Response, taking place in Indiana.
The annual Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) Response Command Post exercise will train and certify members of the CBRN Response Force units responding to a catastrophic event with a singular goal — getting the right capability to the right place as soon as possible.
Vibrant Response, at Camp Atterbury, validates how the headquarters elements plan and execute operations. This exercise is split up into CBRN Response Force Alpha and Bravo, which consist of Army Reserve and National Guard commanded units, and Joint Task Force - Civil Support, the nation's only standing CBRN joint task force, a mixture of mixture of Active, Reserve and Guard forces from all the branches.
“From a military point of view… the National Guard are the first military uniformed people that are on the ground, rightfully, as part of the state’s response,” said Brig. Gen. John Hashem, deputy commanding general-support, U.S. Army North.
State National Guard’s train and appoint dual status commanders with the authority to command both federal and state National Guard forces in the event of large-scale disasters. Dual status commanders are trained to coordinate and integrate military and federal agencies during and after a disaster. They were created after learning from the past to simplify chains of command during catastrophic events.
“Our success comes in unity of effort, not only within DoD [Department of Defense]. Nobody cares about parochial differences on the ground,” said Hashem. “We are there for a common interest to save lives and prevent human suffering.”
In the event of a catastrophic incident, the CBRN Response Enterprise performs some of the following key tasks:
● Logistics.
● Mass casualty and personnel decontamination.
● Emergency medical care.
● Ground and aviation medical and casualty evacuation.
● Search and rescue.
● Assisting FEMA to get life-sustaining resources to the affected population.
These forces fit into the National Response Framework (NRF) which establishes a single, comprehensive approach to domestic incident management. The NRF is used to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.
“We provide the support as tasked through mission assignments that FEMA provides [at the state’s request],” added Hashem. “Once the response can be handled by the state, we move out.”
VR/GR 18 helps to ensure that the military units maintain a trained and ready force that can effectively respond to a national crisis, collaborating with federal agencies in order to save lives and minimize human suffering.
The two exercises create a multi-echelon, relevant, realistic, and challenging training experience, similar to that gained by rotational units at the national training center. The exercises are providing the training conditions and environment to properly assess proficiency in the accomplishment of key tasks. The exercises allows for the interoperability between organizations including the Department of Defense, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Guard, and several other local, state, and federal agencies.
"Indiana's Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck training facilities are excellent locations to host an exercise of this scale and magnitude,” said Col. John Silva, commander of Camp Atterbury - Muscatatuck. “Without a doubt, the participants will receive the most realistic training available.”
U.S. Army North and U.S. Force Command execute the linked annual disaster response exercises, Vibrant Response and Guardian Response, at the direction of U.S. Northern Command. USFORSCOM’s Guardian Response, held at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, confirms how the subordinate units training on the ground carry out the operations under the direction of a joint task force. GR18 is executed by the U.S. Army Reserve Center command.
| Date Taken: | 04.11.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2018 08:09 |
| Story ID: | 273082 |
| Location: | INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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