1st Medical Brigade set to deploy for Vibrant Response 14

13th Armored Corps Sustainment Command (13th ESC)
Courtesy Story

Date: 07.18.2014
Posted: 07.18.2014 17:29
News ID: 136575

By Staff Sgt. Lisa Eaton
Unit Public Affairs Rep.
HHC, 1st Medical Brigade

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - The 1st Medical Brigade is set to deploy for Vibrant Response training at Camp Atterbury, Ind. The Defense CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosive) Reactionary Force (DCRF) mission is a national joint response force established to meet the US Army Northern Command requirements to rapidly respond to a CBRN incident. Units will be validated and are required to maintain readiness through a series of alerts, marshals and exercises. The culminating event for FY15 units will be Vibrant Response 14, taking place in July.

Soldiers will work at army reserve training facilities at Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck, Indiana, which has played host to Vibrant Response for the past four years. Vibrant Response is one of the major field training exercises conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North. Service members and civilians from the military and other federal and state agencies throughout the country will come to Camp Atterbury for realistic disaster-response training.

The 1st Medical Brigade maintains one of the highest operational tempos for deployment and redeployment in the Army. The brigade, while supporting operations in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Kosovo simultaneously remains ready for missions stateside such as DCRF.

In total, 69 Soldiers will be taking part in this exercise as part of Task Force Med. The brigade staff and command team are responsible for command and control, administrative and technical assistance, training and safety of over 439 Soldiers from 20 different medical units ranging from Fort Hood, Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Fort Bragg and Duluth, Minn.

This is the largest confirmed exercise that the Department of Defense (DOD) conducts for its specialized response forces; it involves service members from the National Guard, Army Reserves, Active Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Vibrant Response 14 training will conduct mission command of DoD medical forces and conducts CBRN response operations in support of civil authorities in order to save lives, prevent further injury, and provide temporary critical support to enable community recovery.

The 1st Medical Brigade has been preparing for this event since March, conducting numerous field exercises in preparation of their upcoming training.

For information on the 1st Medical Brigade, contact 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Public Affairs Office at 254-288-7342 or 1st Medical Brigade Operations at 254-288-4118.