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 | June 12, 2008

Nevada governor launches Vigilant Guard earthquake scenario

By Pfc. Stacey Bonnar 106th Public Affairs Detachment

CARSON CITY - Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons held a news conference here at the State Emergency Operations Center on Thursday to announce the launch of Vigilant Guard 2008, a full-scale emergency preparedness and response exercise sponsored by the National Guard.

Vigilant Guard '08, scheduled to run through June 19, will include more than 2,000 participants from National Guard units from seven western states and six Nevada counties.

The exercise is designed to test, sharpen and evaluate the skills and coordination of local, state and federal civilian response agencies and National Guard units from Nevada, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Utah, Washington and Guam.

The exercise scenario simulates a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on the Mt. Rose Fault system centered southwest of U.S. Highway 395 and Mt. Rose Highway. The simulated earthquake occurred at 6 a.m. on Thursday and set the exercise into motion.

Participants will respond to the earthquake disaster by evaluating and simulating emergency response activities. The exercise will provide National Guard organizations with an opportunity to conduct command and control, execute support to civilian authorities, and explore challenges associated with numerous types of mission assignments.

Although the exercise has been in the planning stages for several years, Gibbons emphasized the timeliness of this training with the ongoing seismic activity in Nevada. He noted an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the town of Wells in western Nevada on Feb. 21.

"These exercises prepare us to look for weaknesses in our plans, processes and protocols," Gibbons said. "We are here today to learn how we can operate and function better together."

Gibbons also quoted a famous saying of Lt. Gen. H. Stephen Blum, the chief of the National Guard Bureau.

"It is not the time to be exchanging business cards or meeting your neighbors during an emergency," Gibbons quoted.

Maj. Gen. Cynthia N. Kirkland, the Adjutant General for Nevada, emphasized the importance of all the agencies and civilians working together.

"It's absolutely critical. We can't believe that if we practice this once, we're done with our training," Kirkland said. "Obviously the flurry of earthquakes in this area brought home the reality of this exercise. Nevada is the third most seismic state for larger earthquakes in the nation, after Alaska and California, so this is very much a reality."

State geologist and director of Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Jonathan Price put the reality of the exercise into perspective.

"The probability of a 6.0 or greater earthquake occurring in Nevada in the next 50 years is between 65 and 70 percent, " Price said. "The probability of that happening in Wells was only nine percent."

Price added: "The message here is that everywhere in Nevada is earthquake country. Being able to respond quickly is the key to reducing the risks."

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Hussein Mashal, an infantryman with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard, listens to questions from troops about sniper training at a range near Toruń, Poland, June 7, 2025.
A Career of Service: Illinois Army Guard Soldier Reflects on Time in Active Component, Army Guard, and Army Reserve
By Staff Sgt. Amber Peck, | July 11, 2025
TORUŃ, Poland — Sgt. 1st Class Hussein Mashal, an Illinois Army National Guard Soldier with nearly two decades of service, has checked a lot of Army boxes – service in all three components – active, Reserve, National Guard –...

Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, the Adjutant General (TAG) for the D.C. National Guard, recognizes members of the 113th Wing D.C. Air National Guard and members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) during Cyber Shield 2025 at the Virginia National Guard's State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach, VA, on June 11, 2025. Cyber Shield, the longest and largest Department of Defense cyber exercise sharpens skills, tests tactics, and strengthens collaboration in computer network defense measures and protecting our nation's critical infrastructure from evolving cyber threats and cyber incident response.
District of Columbia Guard, Jamaican Defence Force Partner at Cyber Exercise
By Ayan Sheikh, | July 10, 2025
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Members of the District of Columbia Air National Guard’s 113th Communications Squadron joined more than 900 participants from across the U.S. military and allied nations for Cyber Shield 2025, a two-week...

Colorado Army National Guard Soldier Sgt. 1st Class Robert F. Cruz, 8th Civil Support Team, receives the Soldier’s Medal for Heroism from The Adjutant General of Colorado, Maj. Gen. Laura Clellan, during a ceremony at the Colorado Freedom Memorial in Aurora, Colorado, July 9, 2025. Cruz was awarded the medal after rescuing an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle without regard for his own safety. The Soldier's Medal is the highest U.S. Army award for acts of heroism in non-combat situations.
Colorado Soldier Receives the Soldier’s Medal for Heroism
By | July 10, 2025
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert F. Cruz, 8th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, Colorado Army National Guard, was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for heroism July 9 in an official ceremony at the...