An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | July 16, 2024

Virginia’s Search and Extraction Team Proves Capabilities

By Virginia National Guard Public Affairs

FORT BARFOOT, Va. - More than 200 Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen conducted multiple mass casualty response drills during a collective training exercise. 

The Soldiers and Airmen are assigned to the Richmond-based 34th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package, which provided search and extraction, decontamination, medical support and fatality management during the mock CBRNE response exercises. 

During the CTE, the CERFP’s search and extraction team was assessed as trained on the team’s seven critical tasks associated with their mission, joining the rest of the CERFP’s elements, according to Maj. Andrew J. Czaplicki, commander of the 34th CERFP. 

“Our task force is validated every three years, but due to unexpected weather last year, our search and extraction element did not finish their portion of the evaluation,” he said.

Over the five-day exercise in May, service members worked through scenarios stressing their knowledge and skills in a simulated disaster. Working 16-hour days in oppressive heat, the team responded to notional improvised nuclear explosions impacting notional cities near Virginia. 

The West Virginia-based Army Interagency Training and Education Center, the National Guard Bureau and Army North observed and graded the exercise and offered guidance and recommendations. 

The exercise culminated with a 12-hour graded evaluation based on the task force’s response to a simulated 10-kiloton nuclear detonation. The task force was required to occupy and establish a 5,000-square-foot mass casualty decontamination site, locate and rescue simulated survivors, decontaminate notional radioactive and environmental hazards and provide medical triage and stabilization. The task force was supported by a small command post and communications team.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how the entire task force came together around our [Search and Extraction] element,” Czaplicki said. “Everyone did a phenomenal job.”

The National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response Enterprise, or CRE, encompasses all National Guard weapons of mass destruction and CBRN response efforts, including smaller civil support teams, 16 other CERFPs, and 10 larger Homeland Response Forces stationed at strategic locations across the nation. National Guard CRE assets are distributed to each of the 10 Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions. Each package can deploy to incidents, conduct command and control, and work alongside first responders in casualty assistance, search and extraction, mass casualty decontamination, medical triage and stabilization, incident site communications and fatality management.

Czaplicki said each Soldier and Airman has individual training requirements ranging from a few hours to multiple weeks.

“This is a very real mission for us,” said Czaplicki. “It wasn’t long ago that this task force was activated in response to the global pandemic. Our team is home to some of the few service members who have actually performed many of these tasks in a real-life environment.”

The CERFP can support first responders and civilian authorities after a chemical, biological or nuclear incident. The team includes Army and Air National Guard units from Richmond, Petersburg, West Point, Rocky Mount and Langley Air Force Base, and Airmen from the Washington, D.C., National Guard. 
 

 

 

Related Articles
Virginia National Guard aviation crews assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, train on aerial fire suppression with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with water buckets March 12, 2025, during a prescribed burn at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.
Virginia National Guard Aviation Crews Train on Firefighting
By Cotton Puryear, | March 28, 2025
FORT BARFOOT, Va. - Virginia National Guard aviation crews assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, trained on aerial fire suppression with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with...

Virginia National Soldiers assigned to the 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group, stand together in front of the ‘Eleven Row’ anti-vehicle obstacle they constructed to demonstrate U.S. counter-mobility tactics for Finland’s Kymi Engineer Battalion.
Virginia Guard, Finnish Counterparts Train at Arctic Forge 25
By 1st Lt. Nathan DeGallery, | March 28, 2025
KOUVOLA, Finland - A platoon of Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group, participated in cold-weather training with the Finnish...

Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen conducted an exchange with the Republic of Tajikistan, focusing on noncommissioned officer and junior officer development Feb. 17-21, 2025, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The exchange supported the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership program, in which Virginia and Tajikistan have been partners since 2003.
Virginia National Guard Conducts Exchange in Tajikistan
By Virginia National Guard Public Affairs | Feb. 28, 2025
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan - Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen conducted an exchange with the Republic of Tajikistan focusing on noncommissioned officer and junior officer development Feb. 17-21.The exchange supported the...