Colo. National Guard and local agencies respond during dam failure exercise

Photo By Sgt. Jonathan Thibault | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jose Pantoja, a flight medic with Charlie Company, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, carries Mike Daniels, right, an evacuee, up a hoist onto a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a flood rescue and recovery operations in Boulder, Colo., Sept. 16, 2013. Colorado and Wyoming National Guard units were activated to provide assistance to people affected by massive flooding along Colorado's Front Range. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jonathan C. Thibault/Released)  

CENTENNIAL, CO, UNITED STATES

05.25.2017

Courtesy Story

Colorado National Guard

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, May 26, 2017

CONTACT:
U.S. Air Force Maj. Darin Overstreet, [e-mail], 720-250-1053

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – The Colorado National Guard and local civilian agencies will practice response procedures during a dam failure exercise in Boulder and Denver counties May 30-June 1, 2017.

Colorado Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters participating in the exercise will fly over Boulder County, from Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colo.

“Exercises like this ensure that we’re always ready, always there to support our civilian partners,” The Adjutant General of Colorado Maj. Gen. Mike Loh said. “It’s essential that we train together to respond to this or any scenario.”

The exercise will simulate a failure of the Gross Dam in Boulder County, affecting the local area and the Denver metro area. The exercise will take place in multiple locations including Joint Force Headquarters Colorado National Guard in Centennial, El Dorado Canyon, the South Boulder Creek Bridge and the Boulder Regional Fire Training Center.

Various external agencies will participate, including the Boulder County Sheriff department, the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Denver Water, and the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The COARNG’s 2nd Battalion, 135th General Support Aviation, will conduct helicopter hoist rescue training in and around Boulder County and El Dorado Canyon.

As part of the exercise, Colorado Air National Guard members from the 240th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Bridge Assessment Team will inspect bridges in Boulder County for structural integrity.

The National Guard Communications Element will employ their joint incident site communications capability – a system that allows emergency responders to communicate seamlessly with each other and military personnel on the ground.

The 8th Civil Support Team will assess hazards, advise civil authorities, and facilitate military support during the exercise. The 8th CST advises civilian authorities on appropriate actions to take with possible contaminates, through on-site testing and expert consultation.

CONG Soldiers and Airmen assigned to Joint Task Force - Centennial will oversee the military portion of the exercise. JTF-C provides command and control for military forces in support of civil support operations in Colorado, with the mission of saving lives, protecting property, and mitigating human suffering.

CONG trains for domestic operations within the national response framework, which ensures the ability to organize, validate and exercise in preparation for conducting civil support operations. The CONG is fully capable for domestic operations missions and able to provide forces to support incident management teams or even other states, when directed by the governor.

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• Date Taken: 05.25.2017
• Date Posted: 05.26.2017 10:34
• Story ID: 235442
• Location: CENTENNIAL, CO, US