CHARLESTON, S.C. – Nearly 1,600 South Carolina Army National Guard soldiers from the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, headquartered in Charleston S.C., are conducting a training exercise in the cities of McCormick, Barnwell and Plum Branch, S.C. The exercise centers around a simulated nuclear terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The exercise, named Palmetto Response, is two weeks long and began the first week of June.

A media day will be held June 13. Below is the schedule for morning and afternoon media opportunities.

8:30-9:00 a.m.: Check-in at Smart Center, 106 Circle Dr., Plum Branch, S.C. 29845
9:00-9:30 a.m.: Mass Casualty Exercise
9:30-10:00 a.m.: Wellness checks
10:00-10:30 a.m.: Escorted to Clark’s Hill Training Site (CHTS)
10:30-11:00 a.m.: Tactical Operations Center tour

1:30-2:00 p.m.: Check-in at Smart Center
2:00-2:30 p.m.: Respond to Civil disturbance
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Decontamination Line
3:30-4:00 p.m.: Escorted to CHTS
4:00-4:30 p.m.: Tactical Operations Center tour

The training will include urban and aerial search and rescue missions, simulated decontaminations operations, aerial resupply, medical training and many other events with excellent photo and video opportunities. Soldiers will role-play injured civilians, complete with mock injuries. Local first responders, including emergency service, police and fire professionals will be integrated into the scenarios to give the soldiers experience working with civilian authorities.

To cover this event, media should contact Capt. Tim W. Irvin, Public Affairs Officer, at 803-391-0176 or e-mail tim.irvin@us.army.mil.

Background:

The 218th MEB is part of the Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, Radiological and High Explosive Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF (pronounced see-smurf) for short.
The Department of Defense has developed two CCMRF units to react to catastrophic incidents. The 218th MEB, SCARNG, is the lead unit on the ground when CCMRF 11.2 is deployed.

The 218th MEB assumed command of the CCMRF 11.2 mission Oct. 1, 2009, and has been tasked with the mission until the end of Sept. 2011. The CCMRF units are made up of active duty and reserve component units representing each military service. The CCMRF units deploy on order of the secretary of defense, once requested by a governor, to support responding federal, state and local agencies to aid local authorities during a disaster. Federal military members must remember they are in a supporting role of the primary federal agency, typically FEMA, while operating within the United States. The 218th MEB controls more than a dozen Reserve and National Guard units within CCMRF 11.2.