FORT A.P. HILL, Va., -- Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!" shouted Capt. Terry Riesel, a trainer/mentor from 157th Infantry Brigade, First Army Division East, assisting in Sudden Response, a recent command post exercise at A.P. Hill, Va.
During the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-yield Explosive exercise -- a precursor to Vibrant Response taking place this summer at Camp Atterbury -- Division East trainer/mentors observed and provided feedback as Joint Task Force Civil Support personnel responding to multiple (notional) potentially life-threatening emergencies.
The scenario.
On the first day of the exercise, a notional plane crash in metropolitan of a major city in the United States, requiring the support of a DoD Defense Response Force near Dobbins Air Force Base. The (notional) plane, which crashed into more than four buildings, was carrying anthrax. The following day a (notional) train carrying another toxic substance derailed and leaked into the soil.
These two 'real-world' notional scenarios required Task Force Soldiers to respond to quickly. First Army Division East trainer/mentors observed and provided feedback throughout the one-week exercise to JTF-CS staff on everything from the activation of their troops and crisis-action planning to their response to the complex and (notional) catastrophic incidents in the major metropolitan city.
"We do these scenarios to see how well the JTF-CS functions as a staff during a difficult event," said Lt. Col. Marcus Harring, a trainer/mentor from 157th Inf Bde, First Army Division East. "The next step after Sudden Response is for this headquarters to come to Camp Atterbury for a larger, more involved exercise."
Harring added not only is Sudden Response educational for the JTF-CS, it also prepares the 157th Infantry Brigade participants to support Vibrant Response, the follow-up exercise held in Indiana from July through August.
"The goal is to provide relevant feedback to the unit for future successes," explained Harring, a native to Montville, Conn. "It is the role and responsibility of First Army Division East trainer/mentors to take note of how the unit reacts to situations. We do this to assist the training audience, and let them see how they are doing in a specific scenario."
First Army Division East mobilizes, trains, validates, deploys and demobilizes Reserve Component units in support of worldwide contingency operations.
"The leadership of First Army Division East and our cadre of expert trainer/mentors, stationed at our three Mobilization Force Generation Installations, have done an exceptional job of preparing the Soldiers of our National Guard and Army Reserve formations for combat and non-combat roles," said Robert Finnegan, deputy chief of operations, First Army Division East. He added it is logical to provide that knowledge and expertise to other exercises as well.
"In January, the Chief of Staff of the Army listed as one of his priorities, providing trained, equipped and ready forces to win the current fight while maintaining responsiveness for unforeseen contingencies. Recently, we have seen a variety of natural disasters and crisis situations here in the U.S. where our military forces can and have assisted. As a whole, First Army Division East conducts battle focused, tough, realistic training to provide equipped and ready Soldiers, leaders, and units and provides constructive feed back with a goal of improving performance, knowledge, and skill sets," Finnegan explained.
"I think First Army has the knowledge and expertise to conduct mission command training programs for battalion and higher staff," said Harring.
Riesel, an Ilion, N.Y. native agreed with Harring.
"We give an outside view of how the unit is executing the tasks they're given," said Riesel. "Whether we are performing as a trainer/mentor here, or back at the unit in Indiana, we have the black and white priorities to assess and validate units, allowing for fewer conflicts among individuals."
He added each trainer/mentor has deployed at least one time, making them a viable component to current and future exercises.
"We were picked as the trainer/mentors for this exercise because we will assist with future operations and exercises, such as Vibrant Response," said Maj. Aaron Sheer, a trainer/mentor from 157th Inf. Brigade, First Army Division East. "Vibrant Response is echelons above this in magnitude and the number of players."
All the trainer/mentors agreed the knowledge they gained from JTF-CS, and the Sudden Response exercise would assist in making Vibrant Response a successful exercise. Throughout the exercise, the trainer/mentors' focused on communication and flow of information. Sheer, a native to Freemont, Neb., added it was a good experience to gain insight into the systems and processes for JTF-CS.
"We want to ensure when information goes up to the highest level, it is disseminated back down, and the unit is prepared on the lowest level to save lives and mitigate protection," added Sheer.
"We, at First Army Division East, see our primary responsibility as ensuring these Soldiers are provided every skill set and every tool necessary to successfully accomplish their current mission, and are also prepared for future operations and missions," said Finnegan, a native of Worcester, Mass. "Through the collective efforts of our trainer/mentors, we provide trained and ready forces prepared to go into harm's way and do our nations bidding."
First Army Division East's trainer/mentors not only prepare Reserve Component Forces, they also deploy. Over the past year alone, First Army Division East Soldiers have deployed as members of security forces advisor assistant teams and in support of the NATO Trainer Mentor Team mission in Afghanistan, making them a more contingent team member.
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