Giant Air Guard C-5A Cargo Plane Lands at Hancock Field as Part of Emergency Exercise

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HANCOCK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MATTYDALE , NY (03/31/2011)(readMedia)-- Two giant C-5A cargo planes from the New York Air National Guard's 105th Airlift Wing will land here Friday between 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. as part of an New York National Guard emergency response exercise.

Members of the media are invited to come and observe the landing and off-loading of one of the planes on Friday morning.

WHO: Members of the New York Army National Guard and the New York Air National Guard's 105th Airlift Wing and 174th Fighter Wing.

WHAT: A media opportunity to observe the landing of a C-5A Galaxy flying emergency equipment and troops from the Hudson Valley to Syracuse as part of an military support to civil authorities drill taking part at the New York State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany on April 2. The aircraft will be carrying five trucks with trailers and 74 personnel.

WHEN: 10 a.m. on Friday, April 1, 2011. Plane arrives between 10:15 and 11:15 a.m.

WHERE: Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, 6001 East Molloy Road, Mattydale, NY

For access to this secure military facility, and the opportunity to interview exercise participants, reporters must contact Major Jeffery Brown at 518- 663-8734

Coverage opportunities:

Video and still imagery of the aircraft landing and off-loading personnel and equipment. There will be opportunities for quick interviews with exercise participants.

BACKGROUND:

The New York Army and Air National Guard field a 350-member force of Guard Soldiers and Airmen especially trained in extracting victims from a building destroyed by chemical, biological, high-explosive, or radiological weapons; decontaminating them; and providing medical treatment. This team is called a CERFP for CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear high-yield Explosive) Enhanced Force Response Package, and is one of 17 such teams across the United States. The team would be used to relieve civilian first responders in the event of such an attack.

CERFP elements come from across the state and moving equipment and people by air allows the force to mobilize more quickly.

The CERFP and other New York National Guard emergency response forces exercise three times a year with civilian first responders in different parts of the state. The last such exercise was held in November in the Hudson Valley.

On April 1-3, New York National Guard forces will practice responding to a simulated incident involving explosives, and an accident between a tractor-trailer rig and a train carrying chemicals in tank cars at the state's training center in Oneida County.

About 400 Guard troops, and 100 civilian emergency responders-from the Office of Fire Prevention, the New York State Police, and Oneida County-will participate.

In this scenario, Hancock Field Air National Guard Base will test its ability to stage emergency personnel and supplies in case of emergencies in Central New York.