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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 23, 2009 No. 09-063 VIGILANT GUARD EXERCISE HIGHLIGHTS MANY FIRSTS FOR THE STATE OF KANSAS The Vigilant Guard 2009 exercise, which began last Thursday, continues through today (June 23) in Salina, Kan. at the Great Plains Joint Training Center’s “Crisis City” training venue. The event is part of a FEMA Region VII (Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri) exercise to better prepare first responders for large-scale emergencies and terrorism activity. The exercise involves local, state and federal response partners from throughout Kansas. The Salina portion of Vigilant Guard began Mon. June 22, with the scenario involving an explosion resulting in a train derailment and a hazardous chemical spill, which resulted in a second explosion propelling a railcar into a building and causing a building collapse. In the scenario, there is an indication that terrorism is behind the event which impacts the search and rescue efforts. The event happens at Crisis City’s rail disaster venue which includes an engine, rail cars, tracks and services donated by Union Pacific, BNSF, RJ Corman, Mid America Cars Inc., OxyChem, Simplot, Energy Transportation Incorporated and Transcaer. First Multi-Agency Crisis City Exercise “This exercise took a tremendous amount of planning and includes a number of firsts for our state,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general and director of Kansas Division of Emergency Management. “It is the first time we have used our Crisis City venue for a multi-agency training since we began construction here last year.” This exercise includes hundreds of local and state emergency responders such as police, fire, hazmat responders and search and rescue teams including K-9 search units, and the use of unmanned aerial systems to search for disaster victims. Approximately 80 Kansas National Guard members are participating along with members of the Iowa National Guard Civil Support Team transported to the site on C-130s by the Kentucky National Guard. Search and Rescue Team First in Kansas In the scenario, a building collapse results in seven of eight State Urban Search and Rescue Teams (SUSAR) being called to the site from June 22 – 23. These seven teams include approximately 165 people. “This is the first time all of these teams have trained together at the same event,” Bunting said. Incident Management Response Team First Kansas Division of Emergency Management has been training individuals in each of the state’s Homeland Security Regions to participate in Incident Response Teams and this is the first time individuals from four IMTs have trained together. A full team (23 individuals) from the Northeast Region are participating, along with partial teams from the South Central, Southeast and North Central Regions. Rail Company First in Kansas In addition, the exercise has provided the first opportunity for BNSF and Union Pacific Rail companies, which donated equipment to the Crisis City site, to train their response teams here with local responders and hazmat teams. “This is exactly what we planned for when we set this site up, a place where private industry, local, state, and federal partners could come together, just as they would in a real disaster, and work out issues in a training scenario, rather than try to resolve issues when they meet for the first time at a disaster,” Bunting noted. UAV Use in Disaster Search First in Kansas The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to search for disaster victims is also being exercised during Vigilant Guard and is another first for the state. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Certificate of Authorization June 8 for Flint Hills Solutions' Aerosonde, an unmanned aerial vehicle. The COA allows the Aerosonde to fly over Crisis City. It is the result of the combined efforts of Kansas State University, Flint Hills Solutions and the Salina Airport Authority. Communications Equipment First Communications equipment is also being tested and exercised during this event. The Kansas Adjutant General’s Department has provided the Incident Response Vehicle which provides wireless and satellite capabilities to the site. The Kansas Department of Transportation provided its Communications on Wheels which supports 800 megahertz radio systems for responders. The 73rd Civil Support Team, Kansas National Guard provided its Unified Command Suite. Local responders provided an Incident Command Trailer and the Northeast Incident Management Team provided its Incident Command Trailer. “This is the first time we’ve been able to conduct an exercise in which our communications systems are connecting with an unmanned aerial vehicle and providing a video feed to the incident command as to what the UAV is recording on is flight near the disaster site,” Bunting said. Background The exercise began in Kansas June 18 with a scenario which simulated the intentional introduction of foreign animal disease into the state. The state activated its Emergency Operations Center in Topeka, where decisions were made and actions taken to contain the simulated disease. State agencies participating included Kansas Division of Emergency Management, Kansas Animal Health, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas Wildlife and Parks and Kansas National Guard. The foreign animal disease exercise will conclude at the end of the day June 18 and the focus of events shifted to Salina this week. The Vigilant Guard 09 exercise is a multi-state, multi-site exercise, which includes a series of training exercises designed to enhance operational relationships within Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region VII and identify gaps which may exist between civilian and military response organizations, National Guard leadership, and the Joint Staffs of participating states. Region VII VG09 is a component of Ardent Sentry 2009 (AS09), a National Level Exercise Program Tier III exercise. -30- Follow the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KSAdjutantGen |
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