GUAM - Members of the Guam National Guard kicked off a multistate, National Guard Bureau homeland security exercise here Sept. 12 as those on the U.S. mainland memorialized the worst terrorist attacks on American soil.
"It's ironic that today we recognize 9/11 on the mainland and that we are kicking off this exercise," said Maj. Gen. Donald Goldhorn, the adjutant general of Guam.
The full-scale event called "Vigilant Guard Guam" started here with a tabletop exercise at the Guam Guard's joint forces headquarters. As its exercises continue, participants will respond to a simulated, mock terrorist attack on the island's leeward coastline, which is a popular tourist and vacation spot. The exercises involve the use of two Guard weapons of mass destruction-civil support teams from Guam and Hawaii.
"The things that we are doing here are not just pretend," said Goldhorn. "Seven years ago today it was very, very real, and we have to remember that and keep that as part of our focus."
Guam is a U.S. territory with a population of nearly 180,000. It is located in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines.
Hundreds of Guard Soldiers and Airmen are working with federal, state and local agencies here from Sept. 12-19. Addressing the Guard's role as the nation's first military responder to a major disaster, the training event tests Guardmembers and their interactions with other civilian, federal and military agencies to work in joint response to a major domestic emergency.
There have been about 12 Vigilant Guard exercises held in the U.S. mainland already. Officials said a unique component to Guam's exercise includes outside assistance to the island, which is more then 3,800 miles away from any U.S. state, during a major event.
Responding Guard units in Guam include the island's Joint Task Force, Quick Reaction Force and Joint Operations Center and its 94th Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team (CST), among others. Offshore participating states include members of the National Guard Bureau in Washington, and the Hawaii Guard's 93rd CST, Joint Mass Casualty Decontamination System and Joint Incident Site Communications Capability.