Europe-based U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers train for disaster response

By Press Release, 221st Public Affairs DetachmentMarch 8, 2015

Not getting stuck
1 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Gregory A. Wirth, a master driver with the 209th Digital Liaison Detachment, 7th Civil Support Command, advises Spc. Brian Crabtree with the 457th Civil Affairs Battalion how to recover a stuck Humvee during a drivers training course a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Citizen Response Command Post
2 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Splish, Splash
3 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the 209th Digital Liaison Detachment, 7th Civil Support Command, drive a Humvee through a drivers training course at Citizen Response 15 in Grafenwoehr, Germany, March 6. The training was one of several events that was a part of the 7th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Getting the word out
4 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Flying Brass
5 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Capt. David Yarwood, a field services officer with the 7th Civil Support Command, fires an M9 pistol at a qualification range as a part of Citizen Response 15 exercise in Grafenwoehr, Germany, March 3. Yarwood, from Maryland and married, said that th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Flying High
6 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A CH47 Chinook Helicopter flies over members of the 209th Digital Liaison Detachment, 7th Civil Support Command, at a weapons qualification range at Citizen Response 15 in Grafenwoehr, Germany, March 3. The 7th CSC is participating in the event as a ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Mapping a route
7 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Rockin' the M249
8 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Bonifacio Vidro, a mechanic with the 209th Digital Liaison Detachment, 7th Civil Support Command, fires a M249 machine gun during weapons qualification range at Citizen Response 15 in Grafenwoehr, Germany, March 3. Vidro, from Puerto Rico and wh... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - When disaster strikes, Europe-based U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers stand ready to save lives, provide stability, assess damage, minimize suffering and restore essential services.

During the exercise Citizen Response 15, Soldiers from the Kaiserslautern, Germany-based 7th Civil Support Command tested their ability to deploy with other U.S. military services and allied partners in the aftermath of an earthquake.

"Citizen Response is designed to exercise our expeditionary capabilities," said Brig. Gen. Arlan M. DeBlieck, the 7th CSC's commanding general, during an on-air radio interview with AFN Bavaria. "We have multiple services, bringing them into a joint staff. So, this is an opportunity to exercise our technical expertise, but more importantly, our staff capabilities -- a unified effort to a single response."

The two-week event, which served as annual training for the Reserve Soldiers, began Feb. 28. Some 7th CSC Soldiers set up a command post at Grafenwoehr Training Area. Meanwhile, near Ciudad Real, Spain, others joined a U.S. Navy-led task force in Daimiel 15, an earthquake response exercise. Troops from Spain, Morocco, Algeria and France also took part, DeBlieck said.

Overall, more than 3,500 troops were involved in the simultaneous exercises. The efforts in both Germany and Spain tested Soldiers' ability to oversee response efforts, provide civil affairs support and react to a challenging scenario that simulated a rapidly changing environment. Meanwhile, some Soldiers refreshed life-saving, advanced driving and map reading skills. Others fired pistols, rifles and machine guns.

That training is important for Soldiers who've already served in combat and vital for those who have yet to deploy, Sgt. Justin Arrington said.

"Downrange, you never know what position you'll be put in. You're not always going to be at a desk. If something happens on base, you're going to be off that desk," said Arrington, a combat engineer and Iraq veteran. "We have different jobs, but we're all Soldiers. We all have to be able to protect and defend."

Honorably discharged from active duty in 2007, Arrington, 36, of Washington Court House, Ohio, settled in Germany and started a family. In 2009, he joined the 7th CSC, earned a Army Reserve college scholarship and is completing a graphic design degree. He now works for the marketing department at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden's directorate of Families, Morales Welfare and Recreation. But, if the Army needs him to deploy, training in disaster response scenarios like Citizen Response keeps his skills sharps, Arrington said.

"Situations like this could happen at a moment's notice. We're the ones who are specialized to move out a moment's notice," Arrington said. "That's why people talk about the 7th. They know there's a need for the capabilities and we have the assets to make it happen."

Training for the 7th CSC Soldiers began in Kaiserslautern, packing gear and equipment, plus preparing vehicles for a convoy. Leadership, teamwork and relationships strengthened during garrison days, key bonds to the tasks ahead. A small group launched ahead to Grafenwoehr's Camp Normandy, setting up the 7th CSC's command post, a set of heated green tents set in a field at Grafenwoehr's Camp Normandy. Soldiers shrugged off the cold winter chill, known well to troops who've trained at the sprawling U.S. training area in Eastern Bavaria. They set up computers, generators and satellite radios.

After pre-deployment operations at U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz's Daenner Kaserne, some Soldiers flew to Rota Naval Base, Spain while others drove in tactical vehicles to Grafenwoehr. Several Reserve units supported the 7th CSC missions, to include the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade, the Medical Support Unit -- Europe, the 773rd Civil Support Team, the 221st Public Affairs Detachment and the 209th Digital Liaison Detachment. The task force was augmented by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the 111th Attack Wing, 11th Air Operations Group, a Pennsylvania Air National Guard unit from Horsham Air Guard Station, near Philadelphia.

In Spain, at Daimiel 15, Soldiers from the command provided Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear response, plus civil affairs, medical, and mission command capabilities to Combined Task Force 68, under the Naval Expeditionary Task Force Europe and Africa.

This year's Citizen Response build upon last year's exercise, which was held in Baumholder, Germany and in Bulgaria, said Capt. Rocky Robinson, a 7th CSC operations officer.

"It's been a phenomenal effort" Robinson said. "I think we took it to another level. That's a tribute to the leadership of Brig. Gen. DeBlieck and the hard work that our Soldiers put into this."

Related Links:

7th Civil Support Command

Facebook

Photo Gallery

YouTube videos