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    CBIRF extracts, cares for victims during Scarlet Response

    CBIRF extracts, cares for victims during Scarlet Response

    Photo By Staff Sgt. Terence Brady | Marines with Chemical Biological Incident Response Force dismantle a destroyed car in...... read more read more

    PERRY, GA, UNITED STATES

    03.22.2017

    Story by Sgt. Terence Brady 

    Defense Media Activity - Marines

    Marines with Chemical Biological Incident Response Force executed a 12-hour field exercise at Guardian Centers in Perry, Ga., March 22, 2017, as part of Exercise Scarlet Response 2017.

    Scarlet Response is an annual training event, which elements of CBIRF join together to provide support in domestic regions in the aftermath of an attack or disaster.

    The scenario of the event was that an earthquake had occurred in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and a facility, simulating a tunnel, collapsing after the disaster. Role players participating as victims would run from the tunnel or were trapped inside.

    “There were 150-200 victims trapped inside of the tunnel, which requires us to get in, make [it] safe and get those civilians out so that we can make entry into the city to help where the earthquake mainly hit,” said Sgt. Corey Garretson, an operations chief with Initial Reaction Force A, CBIRF.

    In order for the IRF to continue into the tunnel and into the city to help victims, the Marines had to construct structures and rid the opening of the tunnel of debris. Each section of the IRF, consisting of technical rescue, decontamination, extraction, medical, and identification and detection, provided support in order to get the survivors to safety.

    “Each of those sections have special skills that when they all come together allow us to get these missions accomplished,” said Garretson. “From identifying agents that are airborne or liquid, allowing us to clean casualties at a high rate [and] allows our civilians to be put in the best hands possible before they get taken to a higher echelon of care.”

    The facility added elements such as destroyed cars, debris, and actual collapsed structure to make the experience of the event more realistic, according to Tim Maloney, vice president of business development at Guardian Centers.


    “We’ve worked to create scenarios that allow for live radiological isotopes, active chemicals, biological complexities and lab environments that you can’t find anywhere else other than guardian centers,” said Maloney. “The push of a CBIRF organization [and] the push of the Marine Corps to be better at this mission than anyone else has pushed Guardian Centers to create environments in which they can really test their plans, procedures.

    “We’re blessed that we haven’t had to respond to a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon or a major terrorist event that involves a chemical, but Guardian Centers is able to create those scenarios to replicate those complex challenges so that when CBIRF has to go they’ll be mission ready to support the civilians and to function as an organization that can mitigate the loss of life, reduce suffering and get people back to normalcy quickly.”

    The scenarios and mission requirements during the exercise are set to evolve for the final 36-hour field exercise, and the expectation of CBIRF will increase, according to Garretson.

    “I hope the Marines see when we work together [fluidly] as an entire IRF that things go very smooth,” said Garretson. “I want this training evolution in Georgia to show them that our mission is real and you never know when something bad is going to happen. We need to be ready and proficient because if we (are) lacking, people’s lives could be at risk.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.22.2017
    Date Posted: 03.24.2017 22:21
    Story ID: 228056
    Location: PERRY, GA, US

    Web Views: 59
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN