JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri National Guard Soldiers and Airmen across the state are participating in a national level exercise to prepare and coordinate an effective response to earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
Scenario-based exercises like this are crucial to ensuring that the Missouri National Guard and other state agencies are prepared for a worst case scenario, said Lt. Col. Paul Kirchhoff.
“The exercise is important because it prepares the Missouri Guard to assist civil authorities in emergencies,” said Kirchhoff, who helped plan the exercise. “We are learning a lot, and that is the key.”
The Guard is working with officials from other Missouri state agencies and the federal government - including the Missouri Department of Public Safety, the State Emergency Management Agency, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol among others, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to formulate a realistic plan of action should an earthquake hit the New Madrid fault.
John Campbell, of the State Emergency Management Agency, underscored the importance of the Missouri National Guard in potential emergencies.
“The Missouri National Guard is a key component of disaster response,” said Campbell, who is also a retired Missouri National Guard master sergeant. “The Guard brings capabilities that don’t exist in everyday situations. They bring disciplined Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen to check the well-being of folks who are suffering from the effects of a disaster or to provide warnings. ”
In the simulation, all available Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen are activated to support Missourians in need. Guardsmen would be expected to support local authorities by conducting search and rescue missions, clearing routes, transporting resources - including food and water, to residents in need, and providing security where requested.
Staff Sgt. Cary Mullinax, who helped facilitate the exercise, said Guard members and all participants are facing situations they would encounter after a real earthquake.
“The impact of an earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone would be catastrophic,” Mullinax said. “The Missouri National Guard would be tasked with saving life and limb, protecting property and returning the state to normalcy.”
This year’s exercise is the biggest yet and it involved six different states as well as the federal government. This is the first national level exercise to feature a response to a natural disaster. All past exercises dealt with responding to terror attacks.