VOLK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Wis. — The skills required to perform urban search and rescue are numerous and laborious. When lives are on the line, you want to know exactly what to expect when you arrive on scene.
This is why Air and Army National Guard firefighters from all over the country have come to train at Wisconsin's Regional Emergency All-Climate Training (REACT) Center during PATRIOT North 17 at Volk Field on Tuesday.
The REACT Center specializes in providing the training required for a safe and successful response to natural and manmade disasters for both Military and Civilian responders. Although the training at PATRIOT North 17 will focus solely on urban search and rescue, the REACT Center also offers courses in technical rescue, hazardous materials response, CBRNE, fire inspection, and fire instruction.
U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Wayne Viands, 175th Wing firefighter, Maryland Air National Guard, along with 20 other Maryland Air National Guard firefighters, are training on several scenarios, which the REACT Center provides.
Viands said the focus of the training is on shoring unstable structures, breaching and breaking concrete, patient contact, and patient transport.
"Every one of these skill-sets that are required to perform these functions out here are very perishable," said Viands."To be able to come up here and exercise these skills on a training venue like this is very hard to come by."
When asked how well the REACT Center compares to the real thing, Viands said,"These training scenarios are about as realistic as you're gonna get without being in a real-world environment."
The REACT Center is a sprawling 15 acres of concrete rubble mounds, dilapidated buildings, piles of metal, and run-down motor vehicles; all with a purpose. These ‘structures', or lack there of, provide the setting that replicates real-wold urban search and rescue events.
While realism is important, the training given at the REACT Center is more than just about cutting through concrete and navigating fallen rubble. They also promote safety, which is a cornerstone of the REACT Center. The instructors are always observing to ensure participants are performing their jobs safely.
In addition being highly skilled and using multiple tools and techniques, urban search and rescue requires one to be an exceptional problem-solver. For someone conducting rescue efforts, one wrong move could bring a structure down. Skill, smarts, and safety are all significant aspects of a successful rescue.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Clint Montgomery, assistant chief of the 134th Air Refueling fire department, keeps it simple when it comes to planning an effective search and rescue effort.
"There's only two criteria to determine if a solution to the problem is viable," said Montgomery."Number one. Is it safe? And number two. Does it work?"