Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Donald Reeves | A member of the Army Reserve 371st Chemical Company assists roleplayer Pfc. Hector J....... read more read more
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LA CROSSE, Wis. — Pfc. Hector J. Lopez had worked a decontamination tent before. He had scrubbed the medical mannequins that came through his line and hosed them down with the high-pressure sprayer.
This time, it was his turn to go through the wash.
Red Dragon, held this year throughout southern Wisconsin for two weeks, is the world's largest chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training exercise. The Army Reserve's new mission is to train units not to just respond in times of war, but also to quickly deploy in support of local agencies in the aid of the American public.
Lopez and his fellow Soldiers from the 369th Chemical Company out of El Paso, Texas, volunteered to take turns going through the decontamination tents playing the part of casualties during a June 16 drill for Red Dragon.
"We've seen it, we've done it, but we've never been through it," Lopez said. "It should be interesting."
Their day started early. The 311th Mortuary Affairs unit out of Puerto Rico applied realistic looking burns and cuts to the Soldiers using theater style make-up. Then the motley-looking crew of more than 75 Soldiers loaded up on buses and rode for an hour from Fort McCoy, Wis., to La Crosse.
Once at the La Crosse Firefighters Academy the Soldiers played the part of casualties of a massive chemical attack. The La Crosse Regional Hazardous Materials Team joined the exercise by detecting the chemical agents and calling for an Army Reserve massive casualty decontamination tent.
While one team set up the decontamination line, another team donned bright yellow HAZMAT suits and moved into an area mapped out by the firefighters.
In a field near the twisted wreckage of cars and rubble of old buildings, the Soldiers found the "victims" sprawled on the ground, moaning and writhing in agony. The chemical Soldiers in the sweltering suits followed their protocol, marking the bodies of the dead and transporting others to the decontamination line.
Lopez yelled in the line and acted disoriented, playing his part to the utmost.
"I wanted to act kind of psycho because that's how it would really be you know," he said later. "Nobody who has been through something like that is just going to walk quietly through a line."
The casualties were led through different stations where they were sprayed with water and scrubbed. Many of the casualties tried out their acting skills by being belligerent or screaming in pain. Watching their fellow Soldiers coming through dressed in civilian clothes caused some to look at their jobs in a different way.
"Now that it's a homeland defense mission people know that it could be your mom or your dad in that line," said Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone Pugh, a platoon sergeant. "You could look up and one of those people screaming could be someone you know."
After being checked out by the medical personnel at the end of the line, Lopez sat drying in the sun, reflecting on how he can improve at his job.
"I learned a lot," he said. "We have to practice timing. I can see how important it is to get people through quickly. It's so important."
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2009 18:51 |
| Story ID: | 35545 |
| Location: | LA CROSSE, US |
| Web Views: | 503 |
| Downloads: | 347 |
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