Vibrant Response 24

Photo By Sgt. Thomas Lamb | U.S. Army Spc. Mathias Taipe, an intelligence analyst with 555th Engineer Brigade, draws on a map during Vibrant Response 24 on Fort Carson, Colorado, April 23, 2024. Vibrant Response is an annual U.S. Northern Command directed command post exercise. As U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, U.S. Army North is Vibrant Response 24's executive agent responsible for ensuring the training focuses on a simulated Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) disaster scenario designed to validate U.S. Northern Command's CBRN Response Enterprise's ability to exercise short-notice and no-notice deployment of military forces at the request of civil authorities to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and mitigate property damage following a catastrophic CBRN event. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Tom Lamb)  

CO, UNITED STATES

04.23.2024

Story by Sgt. Kimberley Glazier 

29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT CARSON, Colo. – Approximately 1,200 personnel from U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force Civil Support, U.S. Army North, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency came together to validate their effectiveness in responding to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear disasters in the U.S. for Vibrant Response 24, April 22-29, 2024.

Vibrant Response 24 is a one-phase exercise intended to evaluate DOD’s ability to deploy, employ and sustain specialized military response forces at the request of civilian authorities to save lives and relieve human suffering following a catastrophic CBRN incident.

“Exercises like VR 24 are vital to protecting the homeland because it gives us the chance to practice the skills required to rapidly deploy and respond, testing not only our ability to work together with multiple agencies but also how quickly we can scale our capabilities in the event that a catastrophic incident were to occur,” said U.S. Army Col. Tanya McGonegal, commander of Joint Task Force Civil Support.

U.S. Army North, in coordination with U.S. Northern Command and DHS, have conducted these annual exercises since 2008. VR 24 provides rigorous and realistic training to prepare the DOD’s CBRN response units to integrate with civilian partners and respond to natural or man-made catastrophic CBRN events.

“While the threats to our homeland are complex, our ability to rapidly respond with our interagency partners is vital to maintaining our strategic advantage,” said Lt. Gen. John R. Evans, Jr., U.S. Army North Commander.

The exercise is conducted face-to-face and virtually through collaborative software at Fort Carson, Colorado, with distributed sites in at Fort Carson, Colorado; Joint Base San Antonio–Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; Camp Grayling, Michigan ; Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans; California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)/Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 9 Defense Coordinating Officer/Element in Sacramento, California; and Dual-Status Commander in Oakland, California.

• Date Taken: 04.23.2024
• Date Posted: 04.23.2024 18:31
• Story ID: 469307
• Location: CO, US