Kalealoa Rubble Pile Exercise

Photo By Spc. Paul Berzinas | An Army National Guard soldier escorts a disaster victim role player away from the rubble pile at the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquarters in Kalealoa, Hawaii, on June 4, 2015. The presence of role players acting as victims contributes significantly to the realism of the exercise.  

HONOLULU, HI, UNITED STATES

06.04.2015

Story by Pfc. Paul Berzinas 

117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment (Hawaii)

HONOLULU - National Guard and active duty service members participated in a rubble pile search and rescue exercise at the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquarters in Kalealoa, Hawaii, June 4 as a part of the Vigilant Guard/Makani Pahili 2015 exercise.

The purpose of the exercise was for the National Guard, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, and active duty military components to rehearse responding to a number of disaster scenarios involving chemical spills and collapsed structures.

In the event of a natural disaster in Hawaii, there is a high likelihood that other states would be called in to provide assistance, said Col. Peter B. Cross, the commander of the 49th Military Police Brigade from Fairfield, Calif. and commander of the FEMA Region IX Homeland Response Force.

The California HRF brought about 150 soldiers to Hawaii to participate in the exercise, and Cross is mission commanding almost 900 soldiers for the duration of VGMP15. The soldiers are divided up into four Civil Support Teams and eight chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergency response force packages, said Cross.
Soldiers responding to the simulated disaster were faced with over 40 role players exhibiting various injuries strewn about the rubble pile, as well as a simulated chemical spill, said Capt. Manuel J. Arino, commander of the 330th Military Police Company, a unit in the California HRF.

The National Guard soldiers were presented with various situations intended to accurately represent an actual disaster, said Arino.

“We’ve been doing rehearsals for the last three days, so we’ve run through three or four different scenarios,” said Arino. “We’ve had a contaminated suit, we’ve had a soldier pass out from heat exhaustion, and we also had another scenario with a different chemical.”

The objective of the Vigilant Guard exercise is to create a training environment in which state, military, and civilian organizations are able to practice working together to respond to a large-scale natural disaster in Hawaii. Northern Command and the National Guard Bureau sponsor the exercise.

The involvement of other states in Hawaii’s disaster preparation training is critical to effective disaster management, said Cross.

“It is these types of partnerships that are going to save lives and protect property in the future,” said Cross.

• Date Taken: 06.04.2015
• Date Posted: 06.09.2015 15:45
• Story ID: 165999
• Location: HONOLULU, HI, US