ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Members of the Alaska National Guard have been joined by 50 other state and federal organizations to take part in Vigilant Guard, a disaster-based training scenario that tests the coordination of these disaster preparedness organizations.
"We are testing an unbelievable amount of effort and synchronization," said Army Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Katkus, adjutant general for the Alaska National Guard. "Every one of them is a little bit different in what we're trying to do, but it's one driving factor - the earthquake - that affects everyone across the broad spectrum."
working with local first responders in a training environment, it will help strengthen those bonds should an actual large-scale disaster or emergency occur.
"It reinforces those relationships that we said, and I've always professed, are critical if we are going to be successful in a large-scale response," said Katkus, adding that the exercise also reinforces the Guard's role within the local community.
"What it says is we are effectively involved in our communities," he said. "We are effectively involved in our government and we are trained and ready and prepared to not only respond effectively, efficiently and timely, but with the right resources."
And being able to respond with the right resources at the right time is one of the key elements to success in a disaster situation, said Katkus, adding that is something the Guard provides.
"We've got the right mix of engineers and different folks that can get out there and assist with getting an adequate inventory of what has been damaged and what is still in existence," said Katkus. "Training events like this make us much more able to synchronize and bring to bear resources that are needed to fix the problem. This is why you rehearse. To do this without rehearsing would be a bad day."
Other Guard resources taking part in the exercise include Chemical, Biological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package teams, who specialize in search and rescue and medical triage; Expeditionary Medical Support teams that provide rapid, on-site medical care; and Civil Support Teams, whose mission is to detect and identify chemical agents.
The Guard will be able to provide one other key element needed in a disaster response - communications.
Through the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability, a mobile communications package, state, local and federal agencies will be able to communicate with one another despite being on and using different radio frequencies. Additionally, the system provides telephone and satellite communication abilities, which translate into a tremendous reach-back capability, said Katkus.
And having that communication capability is important when you have a sate as large as Alaska and the closest state is more than 2,000 miles away, said Katkus.
"This is a big state and it's challenging," he said. "We need to still communicate with each other, still share resources efficiently and effectively, and keep local government effective, state government effective and maintain national visibility."
And being able to maintain that ability after a major earthquake is something that those in Alaska have first-hand experience with. In March 1964, the area was hit with a 9.2 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful recorded earthquake to hit North America.
"I was alive in 1964 when we did experience this magnitude of an event," said Katkus. "To now look at the preparation, the technology and how much we've transformed as a state since 1964 and what we have as far as capacity and capability to respond in an organized manner is amazing."
In addition to testing its abilities in Vigilant Guard, the Alaska Guard will be taking part in the state's exercise Alaska Shield and the U.S. military's Joint Task Force Alaska's Arctic Edge exercise - two other exercises happening concurrently and tied into the earthquake response scenario.
"It is one event in time," said Katkus, referring to the earthquake scenario. "But it's three big muscle groups coming together. We've trained hard to be able to respond to the needs of the state and the nation."