MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. - A new Indiana National Guard emergency response task force combining areas of expertise from units across the state, including Army and Air Guard service members trained on new equipment and with new tactics here.
The 19th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosive, Enhanced Response Force Package troops are training this week for their validation evaluation slated for August.
The emergency response unit stands ready to react at the disposal of the governor to natural disaster, terrorist attack or any mass casualty situation. The unit will work closely with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and other civilian first response entities, should such an event arise.
The 19th CERF-P employs members from several areas of expertise including chemical response Soldiers, Air Guard medical experts, and engineer troops, who specialize in search and extraction.
“We were assigned the CERF-P mission a little over a year ago. Today is actually our first collective deployment as a unit training together. It’s pretty exciting, it’s all been leading up to this point, training to prepare for our validation,” said Army Brig. Gen. Corey Carr, commanding general of Indiana National Guard Joint Task Force 81.
The emergency response unit provides avenues of interagency communication in a disaster or terrorist attack response, allowing first responders, military and the department of homeland security to work together on a unified front to accomplish the mission.
“Going back to Hurricane Katrina, the National Guard, active-duty (military) and other first response entities in Mississippi, there wasn’t enough synchronization and unity of effort as we would have liked to of seen,” said Carr.
“Since that time, there has been initiative underway pushed by the Council of Governors for the National Guard to take control of our forces in a disaster response, like Katrina, to unify our efforts and really work together in a domestic emergency.”
The training scenarios simulated a large-scale earthquake, which tested the team’s response and reaction. Advisors from the Illinois CERFP, which validated in January, assisted the Indiana unit in training for validation. Aside from training, the two units could provide support to each other in a real-world, catastrophic event.
“It’s a preparation for the evaluation of the capability of this group. It’s a chance for them to learn their new equipment and more importantly learn how to work with each other,” said Illinois Air National Guard Lt. Col. George Vukotich, an advisor from the validated Illinois CERFP.
“We are here to advise this group and share with them some of our lessons learned and hopefully make it a little easier for Indiana [service members] and their process here.”
According to Vukotich, the combined environment of Army and Air Guard elements can present obstacles.
“A big challenge to overcome working in this joint environment is the different terminology between branches,” said Vukotich. “The decontamination areas ran by the Army and the medical areas ran by the Air Force, it’s important for these units to learn how to interact with each other.”
The emergency response unit commander echoed the same sentiment.
“The Illinois Guard, sending us some of their subject matter experts to share their knowledge, has been extremely helpful in preparing us for our evaluation. There is a lot of moving parts, it’s taken a lot of classroom training, but we’re happy to be out here in the field doing our collective training now,” said Lt. Col. Eric Vonhoven, the 19th CERF-P commander.
“It’s an extremely fluid mission. It’s a whole different world. It’s a great opportunity working with the different branches of military, learning together to provide support to our state and our sister states.”