MILLINGTON, Tenn. - A fresh cloud of white dust slowly settles to reveal a mangled pile of rubble. Once a hospital and parking garage, wires and rebar protrude out of the broken concrete. The deep mud surrounding the building almost resembles a medieval moat,. The weather is pleasant and calm, but on the ground is a motivated, high-speed, joint force military unit made up of both Tennessee Air and Army National Guard members: the 45th Civil Support Team.
And they are not leaving a man(nequin) behind.
A mock earthquake rocked a nameless town nesting on the New Madrid fault line near Memphis, Tenn., at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 19. The simulated 7.7 magnitude earthquake is part of an annual exercise that is put on by the National Guard Bureau. The exercise tests the National Guard as the first military responder in support of the governor and the state emergency management agency during a disaster. This operation is called "Vigilant Guard."
For this year's Vigilant Guard, Air and Army National Guard units from Tennesse, Illinois, Kentucky, and observers from around the country and the National Guard Bureau trekked down to Millington, Tenn., to participate in Vigilant Guard 2008.
Sgt. 1st Class Richard Frost, from the Hawaii CERF-P, participated as an exercise control and data collector.
"My job here is to watch the Soldiers and airmen while they run through these exercises. I'm not here to yell or critique, I'm just here to make sure it runs smoothly," said Frost, a native of Honolulu. "I'm here to let them know how to perform a task if they are unsure of what to do."
The site is not a dump found out in a field. It was actually ordered and built by engineers who were able to make it a believable obstacle, but safe enough for the responders to maneuver through the scene.
"This is a structurally sound "¦mess," said Ronnie Hayes of the Response International Group based out of Oklahoma City, Okla. "We do this kind of thing all the time. If they can dream it, we can build it."
Army Staff Sgt. Julio G. Wolburg, a Soldier of the 45th CST, prepped the equipment for the National Guardsmen that would be entering the destroyed building in hazardous material suits.
"This is a great training exercise," said the LaVergne, Tenn., native as he checked and rechecked the equipment to ensure that the Guardsmen wouldn't begin with faulty equipment.
Army Sgt. Wesley Groves, a native of Jackson, Tenn., waited patiently for the call to go through the radio, requesting his assistance.
Before going into what was left of the building, Groves had to undergo a few medical checks.
"We have to go through a medical test before and after the rescue mission, so that we can compare any changes in our bodies afterwards. If there are changes, we might have been infected with something," said Groves.
Once Groves was cleared by the medics, he was part of a two-man team that infiltrated the building, searching for the mannequins simulating the dead and wounded..
The 45th CST was given several scenarios to work through. For example, one of the rescuers "slipped and fell", "injuring" his leg. Unable to walk, his partner drove their small rescue truck to his partner and lifted him into the truck, driving him to safety.
While this exercise has been planned for several months, an actual earthquake occurred a little over 24 hours before the practice earthquake. The real earthquake was a 5.2-magnitude trembler that occurred at 4:37 a.m., centered six miles southwest of West Salem, Ill. There were reports of it being felt as far away as Atlanta and Michigan. It was one of the strongest ever recorded in Illinois.
Luckily, there were no major injuries or incidents, but the Illinois National Guard was immediately available for any assistance.
Capt. Rick Breitenfeldt, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau, made it clear to various media outlets that this exercise was not in response to the Friday earthquake.
"This exercise has been in the works for several months now," said Breitenfeldt. "It's purely coincidence that there was an earthquake a day before the exercise."
Apparently Mother Nature did not receive a copy of the operations order.