A scorching sun beats down on the city of Lod, Israel June 21 as American and Israeli troops dig through the rubble of one of the area’s demolished concrete buildings. Indiana National Guard Sgt. Dalton Kruger takes a break from excavating and wipes a sleeve across his brow, which is coated in a thick layer of dust and sweat after hours of digging through ruins in the blazing summer heat. A few feet away, Spc. Zachary McClain, another guardsman, peers over a pile of debris and calls out to the others.
“I see two victims trapped underneath here!” he shouts to his allies. “We need air bags and lifting equipment over here right now!”
One of McClain’s team members, along with two marines, an Air Force Tech Sgt. and an Israeli soldier rush to the site and begin to assist him in “rescuing” the two nylon dummies from underneath the collapsed structure.
The service members are participating in an intensive training event for United Front, an annual, week-long international exercise in Israel that aims to develop team building during search and rescue operations between American and Israeli emergency response forces.
The teams involved with United Front include Army/Air National Guard CERFP (CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package) units from Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, as well as Marine Corps CBIRF (Chemical Biological Incident Response Force) troops from Maryland.
Also included are members of civilian rescue groups such as Task Force 1 units from Indiana and Virginia and the Bloomington Fire Department.
These US disaster response forces train alongside foreign allies in the National Rescue Unit (NRU), a specialized branch of the Home Front Command of the Israeli Defense Force. The Israeli Home Front Command is similar to the American National Guard. The troops spend a full week training together in Israel, working to improve their skills and strengthen unit readiness, ensuring that the soldiers are prepared to leap into action whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
“We’re making international bonds here,” said Sgt. Keith Harris, a soldier with the 19th CERFP. “You never know when we’ll need to go on call for an earthquake, terrorist attack, or any other disaster at home.”
This unique exercise serves as a strong component of military alliance between the U.S. and Israel; it allows for service members from both groups to develop comradery while sharing operational expertise.
“I think we learn from everybody. I learn from the Marine Corps, from the Army,” said NRU noncommissioned officer Ziv Shkolnik. “You feel others’ point of view working with them, so you learn more than you would just working on the station.”
“It’s nice to be able to meet and make a lot of connections,” added NRU soldier Hadar Barel. “I can see the benefits we give to each other, working together, even for [a short time.]”
The primary event of United Front was a continuous 36-hour search and rescue training mission after a simulated terrorist attack in the city of Lod. After a controlled demolition of three separate buildings, the troops began combing through the ruins to search for survivors of the attack, who were represented by both mannequins and living role-players. The rescue teams utilized power saws, jackhammers, cranes and specialized equipment to navigate through the rubble and pull victims to safety.
Both American and Israeli officials were present at the training site to evaluate how they might strengthen the partnership between the National Guard and the Home Front Command in the future.
“This annual training exercise is an opportunity for the Home Front Command and National Guard to learn one from another and strengthen our operational coordination,” said IDF Col. Dudi Mizrahi. “Together we improve our skills to respond to crises which may arise in Israel, the US, and around the world.”
The military partnership between the U.S. and Israel goes back several years, and in that time both countries have continued to learn from one other on a tactical level, said Major General Courtney P. Carr, Adjunct General of the State of Indiana.
“In terms of the future, the first thing is that there’s going to be an enduring relationship with the Home Front Command,” Carr said. “It absolutely enhances the skill sets of both countries.”
From the way they utilized specific rescue tools to the organization of their operating procedures, the service members learned from their foreign brothers and sisters to maximize effectiveness both on the training ground and in the field.
“I think this opportunity is very unique, for not only the 19th CERFP but for the Indiana National Guard,” said 19th CERFP Sgt. Maj. Tony Williams. “The bottom line here is that we are here to mitigate any suffering that we might come across in the US.”
The 19th CERFP maintains advanced capabilities for disaster response and search and rescue operations unlike any other Indiana National Guard unit, said Spc. Marcus Bradley, another soldier with the 19th CERFP. Their unique skill set makes them the ideal group to collaborate with an elite unit like the NRU.
“There is one unit in the state that can do all of the functions, and the CERFP is it,” Bradley said. “CST can do some of it, Engineers can do other parts of it, the deconstruction teams can do another part, but only the CERFP has all these combined into one.”
Israeli Home Front Command’s NRU has deployed to assist in rescue operations and to provide relief efforts in countries all around the world. Many of the IDF soldiers who trained with US forces at United Front have used their skills in real-world situations while deploying to areas like Nepal, Haiti, and Kenya.
“The reason we’re here is because the Israelis have 30 years of experience in an international search and rescue environment,” said Lt. Col. Greg Motz, battalion commander of the 19th CERFP. “Instead of waiting for a natural disaster to come to Israel, they go to a natural disaster, both to help people and to learn those lessons should that ever come home.”
“The things that they do are allowing us to raise our abilities to the next level,” Motz added.
After successfully clearing the crumbling concrete and rebar, Sgt. Kruger, Spc. McClain and a team of NRU troops carefully place the “victim” on a gurney and carry the survivor to a safe zone away from the wreckage. Nighttime is slowly creeping up on the soldiers, but there is no rest for the weary. Both American and Israeli troops will continue working tirelessly as long as there are lives to save.
| Date Taken: | 07.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2016 13:52 |
| Story ID: | 203313 |
| Location: | LOD, IL |
| Web Views: | 172 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, UNITED FRONT: AT HOME OR ABROAD, by SGT Evan Myers, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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