JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska National Guardsmen from the 207th Engineer Support Platoon and the 297th Military Police Company assisted with loading patients on to AmbuBus transport vehicles from Anchorage-based hospitals to a simulated disaster aeromedical staging facility this week.
“We’re participating in Exercise Vigilant Guard-Alaska 2014, a joint exercise with federal, state, and local services to train for the event of an earthquake or natural disasters,” Staff Sgt. John Cupp, 207th ESP, training noncommissioned officer.
The focus of this drill was to react to mass casualties. Patients with simulated injuries were carried by litter and loaded on to an AmbuBus at various locations. They were then transported to a DASF on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
“Providence Alaska Medical Center participated with our municipal, state and federal partners in a number of activities starting on 27 Mar and ending 1 April,” said Pat Reynaga, RN, director Triage Call Center and interim Emergency Plan manager, PAMC.
VG-14 is designed to test the response capabilities of local and state authorities and their ability to work together during a disaster.
“We simulated sharing resources in both supplies and staffing, [and] information concerning our structures and utilities, and learned information to improve our plans,” said Reynaga.
VG-AK14 is a regional, tactically focused exercise to apply and test methods for providing disaster response and recovery from a major earthquake and tsunami.
“I think this is important to the state and the community so we can offer the reassurance that if something was to happen then the National Guard would be prepared to respond and protect our state,” said Cupp.