Army National Guard members of the Mass. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) decontamination element participate in a relay race as part of a training exercise held June 23-25, 2012, at Camp Edwards. The element was divided into two teams, and each person had to put on their full decontamination suit, pick up a sand bag and run 50 meters and back before the next person could participate in the relay. The purpose of the relay was to reinforce the importance of the decontamination team getting their equipment on quickly and correctly. (National Guard photo by Senior Airman Bonnie Harper, 104FW Public Affairs)
CAMP EDWARDS — More than 300 Army and Air National Guardsmen participated in a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) exercise June 23-25 at Camp Edwards in preparation for a major-command evaluation in August.
“This is training for the real world,” said Air Force Capt. Mary Newton of the Mass. CERFP medical team. “It is important for the entire team to come together so they can be prepared when called out (for an emergency response).”
The mission of the Mass. CERFP is to respond to CBRNE incidents or other catastrophic events, assisting local, state and federal agencies with search and recovery efforts. CERFPs locate and extract victims from a contaminated environment, perform mass patient/casualty decontamination, and provide treatment as necessary to stabilize patients for evacuation.
The CERFP teams are comprised of approximately 180 traditional National Guard Soldiers and Airmen who are trained and equipped to integrate into the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Each CERFP has four elements: casualty search and extraction (50 people), medical triage (45 people), decontamination (75 people), and fatality search and recovery (12 people).
This three-day exercise began with a day of set up and element-specific training, followed by a two-day roll-player exercise involving the entire CERFP. Approximately ten Observer Controller/Trainers (OC/Ts) were present for the exercise. These OC/Ts travel state to state to assist in CERFP training and perform the evaluations.
During the exercise, the decontamination team had two lanes operating for casualties, both non-ambulatory and ambulatory, and one technical lane for decontaminating workers. Their training prepares them to set up all of the stations and be operational, ready to receive casualties within 90 minutes, said Army Sgt. 1st Class Shannon Braswell, a decontamination OC/T from Florida.
The decontamination element also held a relay race as a training activity on the first day. The element was divided into two teams, and one person from each team had to get properly dressed in their full contamination suits, then pick up an 80-pound sand bag and run 50 meters and back before the next person could begin.
“The purpose of this relay was to covey the importance of putting on their equipment correctly, as well as quickly,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Falchek, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the element.
The medical element, comprised of Air National Guard members from the 102nd and 104th Medical Groups, participated in a mock-casualty exercise involving more than 20 role players. The role players were dressed in blue scrubs and were assigned index cards with specific details about their mock injuries. Special effects makeup artists created various wounds on the role players, making the casualties more realistic for the medical team to practice treating.
“Being a member of the CERFP is rewarding because you know that if something happens, there is a strong team,” said Senior Airman Jenna Oleksak, a respiratory therapist from the 104th Fighter Wing and a member of the CERFP medical element. “We have good equipment and professionals who know their job. It’s great to see people come together at the drop of a hat and learn to work together as a team. These exercises are great practice for real-world events.”
Along with the medical element, there are currently 11 airmen from the 104th Force Support Squadron, located at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield Mass. These members maintain a unique role in the CERFP, specializing in fatality search and recovery, their team, the FSRT, is a critical component to the overall CERFP capability.
“In the case of a real emergency, our team is responsible for getting the victims accounted for and returning them to their families,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ron Perry, a member of the 104FW and the FSRT.
Ten specially trained Air National Guard medics accompany the search and extraction element when they respond to an incident. The casualty search and extraction element specializes in four specific techniques for extracting casualties, adapting to the environment and tools available. These smaller/specialized teams focus on breaching debris fields, shoring the site to safely excavate the area, often requiring ropes for hosts and support; in the event there is a small confined space, a small team of members utilizes special lifting and hauling skills, to relieve any trapped victims by safely managing the surroundings of the incident site.
During the exercise, the lifting and hauling team worked together to move various cement blocks, approximately 1,000 pounds each. Their OC/T leader, Army Sgt. 1st Class Lee Glen from West Virginia, asked the group to get one cement block on top of another, larger block, using only wooden planks and wedges and metal rods and rollers.
“This team-building exercise is all about communication,” Sgt. 1st Class Glen said. “There is no wrong way to do it, as long as it is done safely. Machinery is not always available. Working in emergency situations is all about problem solving and learning to think outside the box.”
The tasks the CERFP performs are used both in military and civilian emergency incidents. This is a National Guard program because it is easier to activate local forces in emergency situations, Tech. Sgt. Perry said. The strength of the Guard is in its inherent local ties and integration into the community.
The MA CERFP activated to support Hurricane Irene in August 2011 and was stationed in Greenfield, Mass. This exercise was the first time the entire CERFP team had been back together since Hurricane Irene. The training they undergo is equally as important as the state mission they support, Capt. Newton said.
After the attacks of 9/11 and the Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, the government decided to increase the National Guard’s capability of responding to CBRNE emergencies by creating the CERFP program.
In 2010, the secretary of defense recommended that the National Guard Bureau create an additional task force for large-scale incidents with the capability to provide command and control (referred to as “C2”) and security, which led to the creation of the Homeland Response Force (HRF).
Ten HRFs have been assigned, one per Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) region, and will all be fully operational by 2013. Massachusetts has been selected as one of the host-states for the HRF. Along with the C2 brigade (180
Guardsmen) and security element (200 Guardsmen), the HRF includes a CBRNE force with elements featuring the same capabilities of the CERFP; in total more than 550 guardsmen are dedicated to this specialized commonwealth response force.
The CERFP program has continued to grow since it originated in 2001 and will soon be officially integrated into HRF concept, building the new Guard capability, ready to respond if a large scale incident occurs. During the August evaluation, the Mass. CERFP and associated additional C2 and Security capabilities team will be evaluated together, in order for them to be certified as the HRF for FEMA Region 1.
“The CERFP meets twice a year as a total force for field training exercises, but this was the first time training with the entire HRF,” said Army Capt. Andy Mason, one of the operations officers for the exercise. “It is important to utilize the training while everyone is together. The training is vital because we aid local civilian agencies in the real world. This exercise was a great stepping stone for the August evaluation.”
In order to best demonstrate and test the true capabilities of the CERFP, the 267th Combat Communications Squadron, out of Cape Cod, was asked to provide enhanced communication support, adding efficiency between the CERFP teams, C2, HRF, and state leadership. This partnership would be critical during an actual state-side deployment of the CERFP, Capt. Newton said.
The HRF is only one of the many capabilities provided by the Mass. National Guard, to provide for domestic response and homeland defense. Nearly 8,200 members of the Mass. National Guard work every day, providing domestic support, as well as achieving national objectives overseas.
“It is satisfying to see this program grow and succeed because we know that we have the resources and that civilians can rely on us,” Capt. Mason said.
“This program is needed to protect and care for our soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines, and civilian personnel,” said Army Capt. Billie Hoffman, a medical element OC/T from West Virginia. “This is the future.”
