MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. –
It is not a scene one would wish to envision: an explosion in an American town, with the emergency response broadcast blaring a message of caution over loud speakers to concerned citizens affected by the blast. Burning buildings, clothes scattered in every direction, debris blocking once-passable roadways, all are merely a small portion of a nightmare scenario.
During the field training exercise Vibrant Response 13-2 (VR 13-2) which ran Aug. 10-17 at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center (MUTC), Joint Task Force - Civil Support teams trained for the unexpected, including teams from Fort Eustis, Va.
"The venues at MUTC, along with ability to use multiple smoke and flame effects, enhance the training and make it as real as it gets," said Paul Condon, joint exercise planner, U.S. Army North (Fifth Army).
About 5,700 Service members and civilians from the local, state and federal agencies flooded in to the MUTC and Camp Atterbury training areas to train on responding to a catastrophic domestic incident.
VR 13-2, a major field training exercise conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North, is designed to help all components respond to disasters in a timely manner as they provide assistance to the American people.
The MUTC is a 1,000-acre urban training site near Camp Atterbury, Ind., that specializes in real-world training scenarios. The training center is designed to add realism by simulating an actual American city in turmoil.
"The environment replicates an actual American town," said Jay Norris, an observer controller/trainer division chief with Army North. "It has all the facilities of a typical small town, and that is the type of environment we'll be operating in after a disaster strikes. The scenario is set in an American city where there has been a nuclear detonation, and these units are responding to that disaster."
Taking advantage of the unique training environment are the CST units, which have specific missions they train for in order to prepare them for a real-world, American catastrophe.
"[The MUTC] looks like the very first episode of the TV series 'The Walking Dead' with all of the signs hanging, fires blazing and the appearance of absolute desertion," said Sgt. Nicholas Erridge, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) specialist from Portage, Ohio. He serves with the 51st Civil Support Team, Michigan National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters, out of Battle Creek, Mich. "This is a unique, realistic training environment."
The CST's primary mission is to support the incident commander as well as those first responders (local, state and federal) by establishing safe areas through route reconnaissance and determining where there are potential radiological and chemical hazards, explained Maj. Ronald Crane, commander of the 53rd Civil Support Team, Indiana National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters Indiana, from Indianapolis.
"The civilian leadership is a critical part of our mission," said Crane. "In fact, they are whom we are designed to work for. We work for the incident commander, so our ability to train with them is absolutely important to understanding of our roles."