CAMP BLANDING JOINT TRAINING CENTER - You're trapped under tons of rubble. You can't move, everything is dark, and the stifling air is so thick with concrete dust you can barely breathe.
Minutes ago the building you were working in exploded and collapsed, and now with every passing second a rescue seems less and less likely.
And by the way, the bomb that brought your world crashing down may have been radioactive.
This nightmare scenario was the focus of an intense training exercise by members of the Florida National Guard this week, helping prepare some Soldiers and Airmen for immediate emergency response that could save lives in the event of a disaster.
More than 125 members of the Guard's CERF (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force) conducted the training at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center near Starke, Fla., working through a scenario simulating a large scale explosion with injured civilians trapped in collapsed and damaged buildings.
The CERF tested its abilities to provide search and extraction, medical triage and radiological decontamination, working in the mid-day heat with role-players acting as injured civilians.
The Florida National Guard CERF team, one of 12 validated regional teams, is designed to augment first response agencies in incidents potentially involving hostile use of chemical, biological or radiological agents.
"This was our first collective training exercise where we actually had a scenario, role-players and fully resourced site," explained CERF Commander Maj. Michael Ladd during the exercise on Friday. "For the search and rescue teams, the medical teams, and decontamination teams, this was just incredible."
When the CERF team, comprised of Guardsmen from the 202nd RED HORSE (Engineering) Squadron, the 927th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, and 125th Fighter Wing's Medical Group, arrived at the disaster site, they encountered numerous casualties, including some trapped under piles of concrete rubble.
Within minutes the CERF members began rescue operations, often crawling through tight spaces under the damaged buildings as they would in an actual emergency. Nearby the team set up a medical triage and a decontamination line for "victims" exposed to radiation from the blast.
"We helped 90 casualties within a matter of minutes," Ladd explained.
Ladd added that if an actual emergency occurred in the near future, he was confident the CERF team could respond and save lives.
"Any time you bring in the best of the Army Guard and the best of the Air Guard, the strengths of each unit come together and you can't lose," he said.
Working in the "hot triage" zone just outside of the blast area, Tech. Sgt. Brandy Hiner and other medics examined casualties prior to carrying them into the decontamination line. She wore a protective mask in case the victims had been exposed to radiation or chemicals, and worked quickly to assess their injuries.
"The toughest part is when we have a large group of patients coming in and they are all yelling and screaming," Hiner, a nursing student at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Fla., said. "We have to deal with that. And on top of all the emotional aspects of this, it is hard work."
As the battered casualties moved from the decontamination line in the medical triage, CERF member Lt. Col. Philip Carnevale and his team of Airmen examined the victims and assessed their wounds. He explained the main objective is to provide initial treatment and move them through as quickly as possible so they can be transported to civilian hospitals.
"The public should be aware that the government has mechanisms in place, that we are constantly trying to improve, in case something like this does happen," Carnevale, who is also a civilian anesthesiologist in Tampa, explained. "It's an honor to be part of something like this."
The CERF can work hand-in-hand with the Guard's 44th Civil Support Team, also located at Camp Blanding, and is available to support the needs of the emergency response and emergency management communities throughout the region.