LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Members of the California and Nevada National Guard joined forces with federal, state and local emergency response agencies Nov. 14-18 for Vigilant Guard 17, a weeklong simulated emergency disaster exercise taking place in California and Nevada.
Soldiers from the 49th Military Police Brigade's 270th Military Police Company and 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, joined by Airmen from the 129th Air Rescue Wing, trained together with members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Los Angeles Fire Department at a FEMA training site in Sherman Oaks near Los Angeles.
The exercise was designed to simulate a 6.7 magnitude earthquake originating in Nevada and then striking California in the following days. The training provided an opportunity for service members to practice working with civilian agencies in the kind of realistic environment they could face in such a scenario, said 1st Lt. Michael Molina, commander of the 270th MP Company.
Molina said that working with outside agencies and understanding their capacities and resources helps ensure Guardsmen will be better prepared to respond if or when a disaster should occur.
Vigilant Guard 17 is one of the largest scale multi-state civil exercise the Guard has ever conducted, said 1st Lt. Brian Frizzie, executive officer for the 270th MP Company. Frizzie said it has been motivating to be able to train outside of an armory in a realistic environment, while also being part of a historic mission.
"We're here as a part of a much larger, bigger picture," he said.
The 270th was tasked to provide civil support for local authorities during the simulated disaster, and focused its training on the kind of circumstances they could expect to encounter. Guardsmen at the FEMA site participated in realistic exercises including evacuating and treating casualties from a simulated train wreck, clearing vehicles and debris from an accident site, responding to civil unrest conditions and supporting medical airlift procedures.
The training was overseen by representatives from FEMA and the Los Angeles Fire Department. The exercises help the agencies become familiar with the differences between standard operating guidelines and communications, said Charles Garcia, Hazardous Materials and Logistics Department Captain for FEMA. Garcia said one of the key differences is the focus the military places on full security.
"We'd rather see you get here first," he said. "You're going to secure the area and we're going to be looking good."
The training is also an opportunity for the civilian agencies to better understand the tasks and skillsets the Guard can bring in a real-world environment, said Jeff Dapper, a Battalion Chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Dapper said that in a genuine disaster scenario, the fire department would likely be over capacity within 30 minutes, so it's important to understand the capabilities Guard units can bring to the scene.
John Ruedy, an LAFD captain, echoed the value of the training, and said it has helped reinforce a great partnership between the fire department and the Guard.
"When we get pushed to the limit, we have someone to turn to when we need it," Ruedy said.
For many of the participants, this was the first time they had a chance to get involved with a training of this size and scope, but Molina said he felt the unit had been able to achieve its objective at the site. He said Soldiers had built skills, relationships and networks with local agencies that would help them in future scenarios.
Garcia, the FEMA representative agreed with the overall success and lessons learned during the training.
"It's always going to better if you can talk before an incident," Garcia said. "You're so much ahead of the game. Every time we do this it's going to be better and better."
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