Busy Day Four for Exercise Vigilant Guard

• by New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs

CHEEKTOWAGA, NY (11/04/2009)(readMedia)-- The four-star general who heads the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Craig McKinley visited the Erie and Niagara counties on Wednesday, Nov. 4, as Vigilant Guard entered its forth day.

Major General Joseph Taluto, the Adjutant General of New York, and commander of the New York National Guard, escorted McKinley to the exercise locations as well as the Erie County Emergency Operations Center in Cheektowaga, where he met with state, county and city emergency responders. Army and Air National Guard General's from a number of states were on hand to view the exercise and pick up lessons learned on Wednesday. Internationa observers from Mexico, South Africa, and Denmark also visited.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania National Guard's Civil Support Team, trained to detect hazardous materials and chemical, biological and radiological weapons, conducted Training in Lockport, while the New York CERFP, the team trained to extract victims from buildings destroyed by radiological, chemical, or biological weapons, went back on the "rubble pile" in Tonawanda for more training. The acronym CERFP stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Enhanced-yield explosive (CBRNE) - Enhanced Response Force Package

The New York Naval Militia's Military Emergency Boat Service conducted a critical infrastructure assessment exercise on the Niagara River, while Air National Guard Security Forces continued training with local law enforcement agencies in security procedures.

Photos and Cutlines:

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Photo by Pvt. 1st Class Jeremy Bratt, Joint Forces Headquarters--New York

New York Army National Guard Soldiers who belong to the New Yrok CERFP, a team especially trained to extract victims from buildings destroyed in chemical, biological or radiological attacks, get some instruction on search and rescue and extraction techniques from a member of one of the 14 civilian urban search and rescue teams that are participating in the exercise, including teams from Canada.The acronym CERFP stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Enhanced-yield explosive (CBRNE) - Enhanced Response Force Package, and team members must don decontamination suits, gasmasks, rubber boots, rubber gloves and hardhats before they mount the rubble pile to find and decontaminate casualties.

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Photo by Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta, 138th Public Affairs Detachment

Army National Guard Sgt. Tyler Fotiuo, from the Pennsylvania National Guard's 3rd Civil Support Team (CST), takes a sample to check for mock hazardous materials in an empty factory in Lockport. The building is being used as a training area for Exercise Vigilant Guard, a disaster preparedness exercise held in Western New York Nov. 1-6. The exercise is based on an earthquake scenario with infrastructure damage and the release of hazardous materials. The 3rd CST is just one such unit using the Lockport site to train to find hazardous materials. In an actual disaster, CSTs find and identify hazardousmaterials, advise civil authorities on their effects and consequences, and assist in the authorities' response.

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Photo by Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta, 138th Public Affairs Detachment

National Guard Bureau Chief General Craig McKinley speaks with Erie County Office of Emergency Services Commissioner Gregg Skibitsky during a visit to the Erie County Emergency Operations Center in Cheektowaga, NY.Gen. McKinley, the highest ranking officer in the National Guard of the United States visited Western New York on Wednesday, Nov. 4 to check on the progress of Vigilant guard, the largest combined civil/military training exercise ever held in New York.

Follow Exercise Vigilant Guard on Facebook and Twitter:

FaceBook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Army-National-Guard/112535293973?ref=search&sid=100000443776901.3155842963..1

Twitter:http://twitter.com/NationalGuardNY

Video will be available at:http://dmna.state.ny.us/video/ and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/nynationalguard

The New York National Guard also has a Vigilant Guard journal microsite available at http://dmna.state.ny.us/blog/journal.php?journal=1254502561.