Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zach Sheely | A role-playing Soldier with the The 35th Military Police Company, Kansas Army National...... read more read more
SALINA, Ks. - Aim High to become an Army of One.
That’s the mentality of the Soldiers of the 35th Military Police Company, Kansas Army National Guard, and the Airmen of the 184th and 190th Security Forces Squadrons, Kansas Air National Guard, while training together during Vigilant Guard 2014, a multi-state, joint emergency response exercise hosted by the Kansas National Guard in Salina, Kansas, Aug. 4-7.
According to Air Force Staff Sgt. Walter Clayton, unit training manager with the 184th, training alongside the Army is a great learning experience for both sides.
"We’re able to incorporate our different perspectives on how to conduct business during this exercise," said Clayton. "To borrow their slogan, 'An Army of One’, we aim to become one cohesive unit, which is paramount in what we do."
The overall scenario during Vigilant Guard 2014 involved catastrophic damage and chaos caused by massive, simulated tornadoes, to test the capabilities of various first responder elements throughout the region, both military and civilian.
The simulated fallout ultimately forced citizens from their homes and provided ample opportunity for subsequent looters. The security elements were then called upon to secure the area and to react via foot patrols and quick reaction forces, as they would in an actual disaster.
Support Soldiers from the 35th MP Comp. played the role of the scofflaws, and it was left to the Soldiers and Airmen of the 35th, 184th and 190th to react and respond accordingly, using appropriate, but minimal force in an effort to maintain order and establish community rapport, Clayton explained. Their ultimate mission in an actual emergency is to protect people and property.
"We evaluate and initiate scenarios that the Soldiers and Airmen go through," said Army Sgt. Justin Hawks, team lead with 35th MP. "We try to initiate our scenario to provide a realistic experience for these guys."
Realistic experience that can’t necessarily be gleaned in a class room, Army Spc. Eric Ward, military policeman with the 35th noted.
"I’ve never experienced training like this," Ward said. "It’s one thing to talk about what you would do in a classroom. Getting out and doing it is another thing. Experiencing the initial confusion is discombobulating, but it is an adrenaline rush."
Air Force Master Sgt. Jared Nickel, team lead with the 184th, believes that getting those initial jitters out of the way, and ironing out the wrinkles of working in a joint training environment is a great benefit.
"Integration with their Army counterparts is a new experience for a lot of the younger Airmen," said Nickel, an eighteen-year security forces veteran. "This training is invaluable in preparing the troops in an actual training area, as opposed to learning in a classroom environment, and increases our potential and preparedness immensely in responding to an actual emergency."
Some of the role players took their job of causing havoc and stress for the security forces seriously, relentlessly rushing the area in an effort to evade them and penetrate the area of operation, sometimes blurring the lines of role playing and reality, but that’s the name of the game, Army Spc. Brandt Cessna, generator mechanic with the 35th, explained.
"I try to be as realistic as possible, safely," Cessna said.
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.08.2014 13:07 |
| Story ID: | 138730 |
| Location: | SALINA, KS, US |
| Hometown: | TOPEKA, KS, US |
| Hometown: | WICHITA, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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