Photo By Staff Sgt. Caitlyn Byrne | An Army Reserve Soldier assigned to 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Columbus, Ohio,...... read more read more
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CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind.—A plume of white smoke rises in the air from a simulated building fire as Soldiers of Alpha Company, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Task Force 46, drive up to a training site at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Indiana, Aug. 4.
As the Soldiers drive up they see injured civilians calling for help while slowly limp toward them. Fortunately, the “injured civilians” are only role players instead of real casualties; this is just one part of a larger training exercise—Vibrant Response 14.
Vibrant Response 14 is a major field-training exercise conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North. U.S. Army North conducts VR 14 to confirm the operational readiness and tactical capabilities of major elements of the Department of Defense’s specialized forces. These forces are designed to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents in support of local, state and federal civilian agencies.
The mission for A/412th CA Bn., in this scenario, is to identify a suitable location for a federal medical facility.
Even though the Soldiers main mission is to identify a suitable location for federal medical facilities and aviation assets, they quickly start aiding the “wounded” civilians.
“We were here to find a location for medical stations and acquire an airfield,” said Capt. Jeremiah Gebhart, commander and team leader of A/412th CA Bn., a U.S. Army Reserve unit based in Columbus, Ohio. “We’re trying to do the right thing in the moment.”
Part of the civil affairs specialists duties are to assist with civil-military operations planning and support, as well as support natural disaster, defense or emergency assistance and response activities. They can coordinate military resources to support government operations, emergency actions, and humanitarian assistance from natural, man-made or war-related causes.
Command Sgt. Maj. Ron Wright, a Columbus, Ohio, native, of the 412th CA Bn., outlined his battalion’s mission stating, “We’re here to help out and be the bridge between the military and the local communities. Specifically, we are here today to assess areas to set up federal medical facilities, as well as find a local landing site for air assets.”
When dealing with a situation such as a natural disaster or a homeland threat, like the situation projected in VR 14 which included the detonation of a ten kiloton nuclear bomb, Wright remarked that operating in the U.S. isn’t much different than an overseas operation. “Certain things are the same,” said Wright. “We still need to assess the location, make contacts within the local community to find out information, but this is a scenario where we’re helping our own people.”
Even with the added pressure of aiding wounded civilians, Wright and his Soldiers still managed to accomplish their mission.
| Date Taken: | 08.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2014 08:15 |
| Story ID: | 138329 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBUS, OH, US |
| Web Views: | 664 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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