CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - Soldiers gathered here May 8-15 to kick off the second week of Vibrant Response 16, an annual exercise that prepares military and civilian emergency response personnel to react to a national emergency.
Vibrant Response 16 tests the ability of the U.S. emergency response network to react to a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb detonation.
The scenario was acted out in real time and required personnel to demonstrate their abilities in all parts of a potential emergency.
"This exercise is very important," said Maj. Gen. David C. Wood, commander of the 38th Infantry Division, Indiana National Guard. "This is the second year in a row that we've been assigned to Command and Control Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response Element."
"We are acting as first responders in case of a major CBRN event in the United States," he said.
Roles assigned to the subordinate units included finding and distributing supplies, search and rescue operations, information distribution and logistic operations during the weeklong exercise.
"We're learning a lot about how to deal with a real-world crisis scenario," said Sgt. Josh Coleman, an Omaha native and chemical operations specialist with the Nebraska National Guard. "We're getting an opportunity to interact and communicate with our counterparts in different branches and services."
Members of the Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy and various state National Guards and Army Reserves set up operations in a barren simulation center during the exercise.
They were assigned to set up a workspace from scratch and organize their personnel to accomplish their mission.
"We are required to be on station 96 hours into the event," Wood said. "Our primary mission is to save lives and alleviate suffering."
The end state of the exercise is to certify the Task Forces' ability to respond to a national emergency at the conclusion of the exercise.
"It is a different kind of mission than fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan," Wood said. "We want to continue to improve our staff processes and get better so we can support our subordinate brigades and support our higher headquarters."