BEAUFORT, S.C. - Lt. Col. Paul Laymon, commander of the South Carolina National Guard's 43rd Civil Support Team, received a phone call early this morning informing him of a potential crisis situation in historic Bluffton, S.C. As a participant in the massive Vigilant Guard 2008 exercise taking place in Beaufort County, Laymon immediately assembled his advance team of six CST first responders and proceeded to the Palmetto Breeze Busing Co., site of the emergency scenario.
The South Carolina National Guard is hosting Vigilant Guard 2008, a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise designed to test the ability of the National Guard, along with federal, state, and local first responders, to react to a domestic emergency. This year's scenario began with a mock 7.3 earthquake centered in Beaufort County. After-effects of the earthquake will result in more than 50 various exercise-related scenarios at incident site locations throughout the county.
The Vigilant Guard exercise call to Laymon came from the South Carolina Joint Operations Center. It informed him that Bluffton first responders had responded to a call at a local bus company where two unconscious employees were found and a "˜strange smell' was present. Following emergency procedures Bluffton first responders removed the victims and evacuated the area. Then they immediately contacted the South Carolina National Guard and requested assistance. Within 30 minutes, Laymon's 43rd CST advanced on-site team was assembled and enroute to Bluffton. Arriving just after 8 a.m., the CST commander met with the incident commander, Fire Chief Barry Turner of the Bluffton Fire District who along with Asst. Chief John Thompson, were on-scene.
As a resource of the S.C. National Guard, the 43rd CST is available upon request to assist local responders throughout the state in potentially hazardous situations that may include nuclear, biological and chemical contingencies.
"We're here to help the incident commander in assessing and responding to the situation," Laymon explained.
The ADVON (Advanced Echelon) team, as well as the whole CST, is here to advise, assist and report to the incident commander so that he or she can make informed decisions as to the proper response, according to said Tech. Sgt. Bryan Barnes, 43rd CST medical noncommissioned officer.
"The ADVON team comes in first to make sure it's safe for the rest of the team to come in," said Barnes. "We'll go in and do a quick survey to ensure the hazard is contained and that we're not setting up our footprint in the plume."
Barnes explained that the ADVON team is representative of the entire CST, "We have a commander and deputy commander, a medical NCO and a physician's assistant along with a lab officer (nuclear-medical-science officer), as well as a reconnaissance/survey element."
The 43rd CST, the only joint Army-Air National Guard unit in the state, is located in West Columbia, S.C., and is made up of 22 full-time National Guard members.
Based on the initial information received, Laymon and the CST ADVON team went to the busing company while the rest of the CST team remained behind at a safe distance of six miles. Later, after Laymon determined that the entire team was needed and the area was safe, they were deployed to the site.
Laymon explained that the unit's main body remains six miles out awaiting his instructions after a reconnaissance, survey or pre-monitoring test of the area is conducted. The unit sweeps the area before bringing in the whole team.
"Safety is paramount," said Laymon. "My job is to make sure the area is safe for troops on the ground."
Three of the reconnaissance element/survey team members, Air Guardsman Master Sgt. Matt Sullivan and Tech. Sgt. Anthony Whigham, along with S.C. Army Guard member Sgt. Edward Edgerton all suited up in full protective gear which included rubber suits, gloves, boots, protective masks and self-contained breathing apparatus prior to conducting their sweep of the area.
Using a modified military version of the John Deere "˜Gator,' one team member drove the tracked vehicle while the other two monitored the area for contaminants. "The Gator is one of the best tools we have, especially in the South Carolina heat. It saves us a lot of walking and carrying heavy equipment while we're in the protective suits which are very hot," Barnes said.
The Vigilant Guard exercise assists both the Guard's CST as well as local responders in working together as a team in the event of "real world" contingencies in the future.
"This exercise helps prepare us for future events such as natural disasters," said Bluffton Township Fire Chief Barry Turner. "It gives us the opportunity to work with the National Guard and they with us."