By Cpl. Clay Beyersdorfer
Missouri National Guard
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri National Guard's Vigilant
Guard training exercise concluded Wednesday, after a five day period
that was a response to a simulated earthquake that took place along the
New Madrid fault line.
Vigilant Guard was a worst-case scenario natural disaster exercise that
was a response to the last ten years in the state of Missouri, which saw
flooding, ice storms and the Joplin tornado, said Maj. Gen. Stephen L.
Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard.
"More than 4,600 Soldiers, Airmen and civilian partners participated in
this exercise, which is one of the largest Missouri has ever organized,"
Danner said. "It was an outstanding opportunity for our force to test
our processes and capabilities. The Missouri National Guard is the most
seasoned, battle-tested force we've ever fielded, but we are always
looking for ways to
improve ourselves so we can better serve the state."
Col. William Blaylock, the Director of Strategic Plan and
Exercises for the Missouri National Guard, was also pleased with the
results of the Vigilant Guard exercise.
"From a soldier-standpoint and even the civilians, we have had
tremendous cooperation and participation," Blaylock said. "Missouri
Guard soldiers and soldiers in general are trained to rise to the
occasion when orders are not given, and everyone has done a great job in
that sense."
In Columbia, Soldiers and Airmen worked alongside civilian
agencies including Missouri Task Force 1, a FEMA urban search and rescue
team, to practice skills including search and extraction and
decontamination. The training was especially realistic because it
included role players who acted as victims.
The teams in Columbia reported to the Guard's Joint Operations
Center, or, JOC, in Jefferson City. The JOC is the central nerve hub of
the Missouri National Guard. Danner recently expanded the JOC to give
the Soldiers, Airmen and civilians working within a more effective
working environment.
Vigilant Guard was the Guard's first opportunity to utilize the
new facility, said Maj. Brett Cooper, chief of current operations in the
Joint Operations Center.
"It was a wise decision to move from what we were using previously to
where we are today," Cooper said. "It's really going to benefit the
citizens, which is ultimately why we're here and why we're working
together today."
Columbia saw a variety of staged missions, including search and
rescue from destroyed buildings, decontamination from chemical waste
outbreak, as well as medical treatment tents for civilian who were
suffering from different injuries sustained due to the mock earthquake.
In Jefferson City, the 1438th Engineer Company completed a
successful bridge building exercise along the river, which saw pieces of
bridging be loaded into the water, and be pieced together.
The unit also completed a similar exercise the previous day at the Macon Training Site.
Similar missions also took place around the southeastern portion
of the state, which is where the mock 6.7 magnitude earthquake took
place.
Not only were Guardsmen working hard to support the simulated
exercise, but members of the 735th Field Service Company Family
Readiness Group worked to secure supplies for those participating in
Vigilant Guard, coordinating donations from multiple vendors that were
sold at the training exercises in Columbia, to help raise money for
Missouri Guardsmen and their families.
"Our job as soldiers in the Missouri National Guard is to protect and
defend this state, and this exercise is training for that mission,"
Blaylock said. "We work with civilians and other state agencies to
ensure we are protecting and taking care of the citizens of the state of
Missouri."
Posts
