Photo By Theanne Tangen | Members of the South Dakota National Guard’s 82nd Civil Support Team practice...... read more read more
CUSTER, S.D. – The South Dakota National Guard’s 82nd Civil Support Team paired up with personnel from Jewel Cave National Monument to conduct a mock cave rescue and emergency response exercise, Thursday, Jan. 19.
The 82nd CST and Jewel Cave officials used the exercise as an opportunity to train in rescue operations and response to releases of chemical, biological or radioactive agents. The 82nd CST is South Dakota’s all-hazard response team with emphasis in the areas of chemical, biological and radiological incidents.
The emergency response exercise was designed around a scenario in which a Jewel Cave employee discovers a radioactive container located inside the cave. Personnel from the Monument notified law enforcement officials of the potential threat, who then contacted the 82nd based at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
The unit dispatched 14 personnel and equipment to Jewel Cave and began their investigation.
“We like to train like this because this is the stuff people have actually seen in real life and it betters us as a team to know what to do in these types of situations,” said Army Staff Sgt. Alex Raber, communications non-commissioned officer for the 82nd.
Two survey members from the CST, Air Force Staff Sgt. Dustin Clement and Army Sgt. Eric Haivala, entered the cave searching for the radiation source using detection equipment. The team found the radiation source and using a cave phone reported to their commander for further instructions on how to handle the material.
As the survey members continued to search for more radiation sources their training evaluator informed them that Clement, “fractured his right lower leg” adding another challenge to the scenario.
They now needed to contact a back-up team made up of Jewel Cave and Custer County Search and Rescue personnel to come inside and rescue Clement.
Once the back-up team was able to locate Clement and remove him from the cave, they took him outside to a decontamination area.
Although Clement made it out safely, the CST’s mission was not complete, they still needed to remove the radiation source.
Twelve hours later, the CST and a FBI agent re-entered the cave and removed the radiation source.
The chances of the CST team being called to respond to an incident at Jewel Cave are rare but we need to be prepared, said Larry Johnson, superintendent of Jewel Cave National Monument.
“You learn in the National Park Service to never, say never,” he said. “You don’t think things like this will happen. We hope they don’t, but we want to be prepared if it does occur.”
The CST and the National Park Service both benefit from training together.
“This exercise gives the Guard unit a unique opportunity that they wouldn’t get otherwise, to train in an environment that is really not a normal situation for them. Plus it’s a learning experience for us. They are able to point out things that we are not able to see,” said Johnson. “It’s also great to know they are nearby at Ellsworth to assist us. We are just thrilled that they are here.”
| Date Taken: | 01.19.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2012 09:32 |
| Story ID: | 82753 |
| Location: | CUSTER, SOUTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SD National Guard conducts rescue training at Jewel Cave, by Theanne Tangen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
