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200th RED HORSE Det. 1 host Homeland Response Force Exercise

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joe Harwood
  • 179th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Mansfield, Ohio --  The 200th RED HORSE Det. 1, Mansfield, OH, hosted the 73rd Troop Command Brigade Homeland Response Force in an exercise by the Homeland Response Force, FEMA Region 5, May 3, 2014. The 200th RHS set the stage by creating the tent city for the exercise, while supporting Air National Guard members from the 179th Airlift Wing of Mansfield, 125th Intelligence Squadron and 269th Combat Communications Squadron, both of Springfield, contributed to the joint exercise.
In the event of a large scale emergency, the Ohio National Guard has to be prepared. Many organizations and people need to be ready to assist the public in its most desperate of times. To have an accurate understanding of how organizations work together for a real life events, this exercise effectively prepares the National Guard for the "unknown events" that come up in any emergency. It could be anything from an act of terrorism to a natural disaster, the Ohio National Guard will respond with ready and well trained units. In the event of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high yield explosives, the Homeland Response Force would be called for command and control and logistics support of FEMA Region 5.
Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosive (CBRNE) enhanced response force packages (CERFP) teams consist of approximately 186 Soldiers and Airmen. Each team has a command and control section, a decontamination element, a medical element, a casualty search and extraction element, and a fatalities search and recovery element. A search and extraction function is assigned to an Army or Air National Guard Engineering unit; a decontamination element is from an Army National Guard Chemical Company; a medical element is from an Air National Guard Medical Group. These organizations maintain their original mission but are given additional training and equipment to build on existing skills for accomplishing the CERFP mission. The CERFP teams function as follow-on or prepositioned forces working closely with deployed weapons of mass destruction civil support teams (WMD-CSTs) to provide a robust National Guard response capability. The CERFP teams are specially trained to integrate into the National Incident Command System to conduct life-saving actions within a contaminated environment, with state-of-the-art specialized commercial equipment that meets the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.

The teams provide levels of capabilities to detect and identify different agents and substances; assess the effects; and advise the local authorities on managing the effects of the attack. The CERFP teams locate and extract victims from a contaminated environment, perform mass patient and casualty decontamination, provide treatment and evacuation. The teams are specially trained to respond to weapons-of-mass-destruction incidents. Each CERFP member can be ready to deploy to an incident site within six hours of notification.

Sgt. 1st Class Ty Henery, 73rd Troop Command, explained, "We set up a command and control environment and a logistics cell to support 5 CERFP's and 6 CST's as they are operational within an area. After an event happens, we pull in resources from FEMA and act as their command and control as well their logistics support. They go in and decontaminate people and when they come out we give them new suits, boots , mask and gloves, food, water, provide shelter...we provide vital life support."
A majority of this exercise is performed by the Ohio Army National Guard, 73rd Troop Command, as they are the lead on the exercise. Army Lt. Col. Daniel Shank, 73rd Troop Command Brigade Executive Officer, Homeland Response Force, is leading the exercise and explained the great significance of what they are doing and the importance of the joint cooperation between the Ohio Army National Guard, Ohio Air National Guard and civilian public safety services. Lt. Col. Shank said "Complete integration, the Air Guard is in every phase of the operation, the scenario could be a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear environment and the Air Guard has medics that can suit up and go down on the rubble pile as medical, help with triage, perform immediate life-saving care, as well as taking care of our soldiers in the hot zone. We (Army and Air) work together through the whole triage and decontamination process. The whole process, from the command level down to the tip of the spear, is integrated."
Lt. Col. Shank explained the vital roles of Army and Air integration in this exercise alone, "All the Communication support is provided by the 269th Combat Communications, Ohio Air Guard, and without them we would be without satellite and network communications today, rendering us ineffective out of these tents, which were entirely stood up by the 200th RED HORSE Det. 1 and 179th Airlift Wing has the medics here. The 125th Intelligence Squadron, Springfield Air Guard are doing great work in the (Intel) shop and the Weather Flight, all of these airmen come together with soldiers of the 73rd Troop Command to really make this whole exercise a success."
Although the thought of the need for these exercises may be unsettling, more exercises like this are planned. The citizens of Ohio can rest assured that if the day ever comes that the national guard is called upon to assist them, both Army and Air National Guard will provide fast and professional help from airman and soldiers that live and work in your communities, all over the state of Ohio. The Ohio National Guard is an amazing component of our military that serves and protects us every day and in our darkest day stands ready to save us.

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