Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft completed airdrops at Badger Drop Zone, security forces Airmen and Wisconsin State Patrol troopers held exercise scenarios together at several training areas, and Young Air Assault Strip was a hub of activity for the National Guard's Patriot North 2018 exercise at Fort McCoy.
The exercise, held July 17-19 at Fort McCoy and Volk Field, Wis., is a joint agency civilian and military exercise, sponsored by the National Guard Bureau, states a press release by Patriot North 2018 Public Affairs. The exercise is designed for civilian emergency management and responders to work with military entities in the same manner that they would during disasters.
The exercise tested Wisconsin Emergency Management and the National Guard's abilities to support response operations based on simulated emergency scenarios, such as an earthquake creating collapsed buildings, mass casualties, and the need for search and rescue along with evacuations of injured, the release states.
"Many Guardsmen haven't had the opportunity to work in this type of environment and (Patriot North) gives our Soldiers and Airmen a chance to hone their skills to respond to a natural disaster and work with emergency-management agencies," said Lt. Col. Roger Brooks, exercise director.
Nearly 900 civilians, volunteers and National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from more than 20 states supported the exercise. Other partners include Mile Bluff Medical Center, Team Rubicon, the Salvation Army, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Civil Air Patrol.
Brooks said he was glad to see how the exercise came together and how all the agencies worked well together.
"During an exercise like this, if you can exchange business cards now, you're not doing it during an incident," Brooks said. "The partnership piece of this training is probably best thing about the exercise."
Training Coordination Branch Chief Craig Meeusen with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security said the Patriot North exercise has had a presence at Fort McCoy for many years. The 2018 iteration, he said, had more participation at the post than in past exercises.
Preparation for this year's exercise began many months ago. "We had representatives being a part of the planning for the exercise back in January," Meeusen said.
While many training scenarios for Patriot North took place at Volk Field, where the exercise was headquartered, Brooks said Fort McCoy helped broaden the capabilities of the exercise.
"The training facilities at Fort McCoy are awesome," Brooks said. "Here, our aircraft get to land on a dirt runway. The (training) village (areas) help us with learning through our scenarios. ... The installation really allows us to stretch our footprint."
Meeusen added, "Particularly for an exercise like this, our training villages offer a perfect place for training in an urban environment. They can do search and rescue, and we have the ability to record all the action if they want to complete an after-action review."
Fort McCoy has supported America's armed forces since 1909. The installation's motto is to be the "Total Force Training Center." The post's varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, new as well as renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide military personnel with an environment in which to develop and sustain the skills necessary for mission success.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching "ftmccoy," and on Twitter by searching "usagmccoy.
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