Staff Sgt. James Slayman, left, of D Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard, instructs his soldiers on different techniques they might use in conversing with people as they approach their tactical control point during Vigilant Guar...
Spc. Ryan Christopher from D Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard, stands guard at a tactical control point as part of Vigilant Guard 18 on May 8, 2018 in Sykesville, Maryland. The defensive perimeter was designed to secure a hyp...
A soldier, from D Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard, watches as a role-playing civilian approaches a tactical control point designed to secure a downed cell tower as part of Vigilant Guard 18 on May 8, 2018 in Sykesville, Mary...
Sgt. Brian Mohr, left, from D Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard, explains to a role-playing civilian why he cannot pass through a tactical control point on May 8, 2018 in Sykesville, Maryland. The soldiers were tasked with sec...
A soldier, from D Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard, guards a downed cell tower as part of Vigilant Guard 18 on May 8, 2018 in Sykesville, Maryland. The downed cell tower represents a portion of Vigilant Guard's various real-w...
SYKESVILLE, Md. (May 8, 2018) -- Soldiers from the Maryland Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, responded to an emergency scenario May 8, 2018, at Springfield Hospital in Sykesville, Maryland as part of Exercise Vigilant Guard 18.
Maryland's Exercise VG 18 is one of the multiple exercises taking place over the first two weeks in May as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Level Exercise 2018 using a common scenario simulating a catastrophic regional hurricane making landfall.
This location's scenario involved a cell tower that sustained damages from the high winds of Hurricane Cora. Civil unrest also took place in the exercise, in which civilians tampered with the tower.
"Our job is to secure the area and wait for the mechanic to move in," said Staff Sgt. James Slayman, a section leader assigned to D Co., 1-175th Inf. Regt.
Upon arrival to the exercise location, three traffic control points (TCP) were established and maintained by D Co. Sgt. Raul Martinez, an infantryman assigned to D Co., also noted that a quick reaction force was on standby in the event a TCP was overrun.
"TCPs are designed to slow the flow of traffic, so that we can gain control of the vehicle," said Slayman. "We have teams out there to check IDs and turn vehicles around or escort them through the area - mission dependent. It's for people's safety and to keep essential personnel in."
During the scenario, infantry teams were dispatched to each TCP and responded to civilian role players participating who attempted to gain access to the area.
"Currently, there is no cell service in the area," said Slayman. "Once the tower gets repaired, communication will be restored immediately."
The success of a mission like this is extremely important due to the extensive reliance on cell towers for communication. Most people, including first responders, rely heavily on phones to perform their duties.
However, the importance of a training exercise like this goes deeper than restoring communication, it also maintains the readiness of service members.
"Training like this occurs multiple times throughout the year and troops are continuously demonstrating their understanding of what's necessary to complete the mission," said Slayman.
The consistent readiness of guard members also provide reassurance to the communities they serve.
"The training we have, [when] put to use, will help the community ease their minds and know that we have control of the situation," said Spc. Jonathan Bridges, an infantryman assigned to the D-Co. "We are always mission ready."
Vigilant Guard is an exercise that allows the Maryland Military Department, along with 42 federal, state, and local agencies a chance to collaborate and test interoperability as part of a national level exercise. The agencies are evaluated on preparing for and recovering from a catastrophic hurricane making landfall.
Nearly 2,000 service members, from within the FEMA Region III area, are participating in the Vigilant Guard exercises in Maryland and Virginia. International partners are present observing the exercise to take home lessons learned. The national level exercise is sponsored by the United States Northern Command in conjunction with National Guard Bureau.
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