YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan conducted a Full Scale Exercise to train soldiers and civilians in the event of an emergency or military threat, Oct 22 -- Oct 24.
The exercise is coordinated to train service members how to react when certain serious emergencies or terrorist attacks occur in Area II. Various situations that may occur on the Garrison were virtually simulated to test the garrison's readiness and practice the best way to resolve the situations.
On the first day of the exercise, service members acted as terrorists trying to access the garrison with a vehicle carrying explosives. Soldiers practiced how to suppress the enemy in the situation, discovering an emplosive device in the vehicle. The Yongsan Explosive Ordinance Division (EOD) arrived and demonstrated how they would defuse the bomb.
During another scenario, the exercise included a simulated biological threat to the garrison. Military Police secured the area of the threat, while the Yongsan Fire Department and an ambulance from Brain Allgood Army Community Hospital decontaminated (DECON) and evacuated the area. All participants coordinated and played their roles in the exercise, and the bio-hazard scenario was cleared, Oct 23.
Following the bio-hazard training, the Yongsan team practiced coping with an unknown chemical, biological weapon attack to check and hone the readiness of the garrison for bioterrorism. Firefighters of the USAG Yongsan Fire & Emergency Services, geared up with NBC gears, set up (DECON) site and received a sample collected by the Portal Shield for further investigation. Once the sample was deliverred to the lab and the substance was identified, the bioterrorism exercise was successfully concluded.
"The system basically evaluates air quality and what type of biological agents may have been dispersed in the area," said Timothy Leigh who participated in the exercise managing the Joint Portal Shields. "This is a full scale exercise where everybody is involved, from contractors, logistics support people all the way to first responders, medical support and communication. This type of exercise will definitely help the community be prepared for potential threats from our enemies."
The overall exercise was a means of refresher training for soldiers and DoD civilians on how to handle any emergency situation, and demonstrate to the Yongsan community that the garrison is prepared to keep them safe.
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