New York National Guard

Story by Eric Durr

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. -- The four-star general who heads the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Craig McKinley visited the Erie and Niagara counties on Wednesday, Nov. 4, as Vigilant Guard entered its forth day.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, the adjutant general of New York, and commander of the New York National Guard, escorted McKinley to the exercise locations as well as the Erie County Emergency Operations Center in Cheektowaga, where he met with state, county and city emergency responders. Army and Air National Guard General's from a number of states were on hand to view the exercise and pick up lessons learned on Wednesday. Internationa observers from Mexico, South Africa, and Denmark also visited.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania National Guard's Civil Support Team, trained to detect hazardous materials and chemical, biological and radiological weapons, conducted Training in Lockport, while the New York CERFP, the team trained to extract victims from buildings destroyed by radiological, chemical, or biological weapons, went back on the "rubble pile" in Tonawanda for more training. The acronym CERFP stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Enhanced-yield explosive - Enhanced Response Force Package.

The New York Naval Militia's Military Emergency Boat Service conducted a critical infrastructure assessment exercise on the Niagara River, while Air National Guard Security Forces continued training with local law enforcement agencies in security procedures.

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