Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Tawny Kruse | Soldiers and Airmen with the Iowa National Guard conducted a joint domestic training...... read more read more
This month, the Iowa National Guard conducted a training exercise that portrayed realistic natural disaster scenarios to help prepare Soldiers and Airmen to respond more effectively during a real-world catastrophe.
The exercise included nearly 100 military service members and civilians who engaged in responding to simulated events including flooding, a derecho and hazardous material events.
Multiple county emergency management teams, energy companies, the Iowa utilities board and the Department of Homeland Security all participated, fostering greater interagency partnerships and strengthening the ability to respond to crises more quickly.
The scenario challenged participants to effectively manage and mitigate the impacts of the different incidents.
During one event, the Iowa National Guard was asked to respond to flooding that was occurring in 30 of Iowa’s 99 counties, requiring significant planning and collaboration.
Many of the participants in the exercise drew on their previous experience from responding to COVID-19 or the 2020 derecho. During that year, more than 1,000 Iowa National Guard service members activated throughout the state to support relief efforts.
“What COVID-19 and the derecho taught me is that these incidents don’t just happen, there is usually some indicator that occurs,” said Maj. Dennis Kester, Joint Operations Officer. For example, “We start to see waters rising, or a levy breach for floods.”
By replicating these real-world disasters, the Iowa National Guard improved and refined their emergency response protocols.
The training exercise was evaluated by personnel from Northern Command, which overseas military operations in the United States. Their expertise provided participants valuable insights to further enhance emergency response capabilities.
The Iowa National Guard remains committed to protecting and serving the citizens of Iowa and is ready to respond when called.
“We have a lot of capabilities in the state, we can make timely decisions to get the job done,” said Kester.
| Date Taken: | 08.21.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2023 11:16 |
| Story ID: | 451776 |
| Location: | JOHNSTON, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 212 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Iowa National Guard Conducts State Disaster Training, by CPT Kevin Waldron, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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