All hazards training tests cooperation, teamwork

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - Hostage negotiations, chemical attacks, and home explosions are the types of unpredictable events that demand instant, collaborated response from all agencies.

That coordinated effort is what Soldiers, federal agents and firefighters teamed up to prepare for during an all hazards exercise, Feb. 26-27, here.

The training, hosted by the 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, tested the integration of different aspects of crisis management within scripted scenarios.

"The exercise really showed us what our strengths and weaknesses are," said Maj. Sean Dublin, the 8th MP future operations officer. "We were able to bring together Soldiers, civilians and federal employees from a multitude of agencies and learn each other's talk and procedures."

Explosive ordnance and chemical teams, federal firefighters, Incident Command personnel, Special Law Enforcement agencies, and military police represented just a few of the organizations involved in testing the interagency response to consequence management incidents.

The exercise ended with the 71st Chemical Company earning full certification to conduct missions against a broad spectrum of contingency operations, and the 728th Military Police Battalion Special Reaction Team continuing their certification for conducting quick response to special threats.

The Directorate of Emergency Services were able to stand up their Incident Command which successfully exercised their ability to conduct interagency support.

The success of the exercise was due in large part to the efforts of the Soldiers, civilians and federal employees involved, said Dublin. Every individual and organization got something out of it and were able to share their knowledge and particular skills sets with one another.

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