Five hundred members of the Army
and Air Guard participated in the one-day event at 11 locations around the
state including Charleston
“This is an opportunity for us to
sharpen our emergency response skills,” explained Lt. Stacy Gault. “This is a
scheduled, annual event but we are constantly training for these types of
events.”
It’s part of Army Anti-terrorism
Month. The Guard is given a number of scenarios and then must deal with them.
It could be a snow storm, a flood or a terror attack on West Virginia
“It corresponds with our duel
mission. We have both the federal mission and the state mission and part of
that state mission is we have a responsibility to the people of West Virginia
But the Guard doesn’t act in a
vacuum. Part of the exercise involves working with others so when the real
thing happens, they’re prepared.
“It allows us the opportunity to
work with state and local authorities, building those relationships with those
agencies,” stressed Gault. “And also practice communicating between all these
locations.”
Gault said when disaster strikes,
it’s a lot easier if the Guard can deal with civilian authorities they know and
trust.
