Major Military Training Exercise Planned For Indiana

Indiana Department of Homeland Security Press Release

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security, City of Indianapolis/Marion County Emergency Management and the Indiana National Guard will hold a press conference at 3:00 p.m., Monday May 7 at the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis, 441 E 10th Street to discuss the upcoming gHoosier Sentryh exercise. gHoosier Sentryh will execute and integrate with gVigilant Guardh, which is a full scale Indiana National Guard exercise.

Hoosier Sentry is a three day state and local full scale exercise to be held May 10 through May 13, 2007. This exercise will be the center piece of a National Level Exercise called gArdent Sentryh, one of the countries largest full scale exercise.

The exercise scenario is a simulated 10-kiloton nuclear device detonation the will drive the exercise participants and facilitate the observation and evaluation of specific goals and objectives identified by local, state and federal agencies.

Through the process of exercise training, we accomplish activities that allow for the evaluation of our current capabilities, identify needed capabilities and develop improvement plans based on our evaluations. This process helps maintain our preparedness as a state.

Source: Indiana Department of Homeland Security

Indiana National Guard Press Release

Indiana National Guardfs exercise, Vigilant Guard, will be the first to be executed, representing the National Guardfs role as our nationfs first military responder in time of domestic emergency.

The exercise will involve the deployment of 2,000 Guard Soldiers into the exercise area, employing their advanced terrorist response capabilities.

The exercise will rigorously test their ability to support local and state civilian authorities, incident and unified commanders and the State Emergency Management Agency.

As in a real-world response, the National Guard forces will be the first-in, last-out military response force in the combined exercise.

Some of the units involved:

-- The Civil Support Team identifies CBRNEs, assesses consequences, advises on response measures and assists with requests for additional support. The CST is on standby
24 hours a day and is mandated by law.

-- The Civil Enhanced Response Force Package is comprised of a search and extraction team, a decontamination team, a medical team and command and control to respond to a CBRNE attack.

-- National Guard Reaction Forces are tasked to deliver a combat arms force of 75 to 125 Guard personnel within four to eight hours and up to 375 Soldiers in 24 to 36 hours. The NGRF rotates between units and is commanded by the governor of its home state. The unit provides site security, roadblock or checkpoints as needed, assists civil authorities and protects government-owned infrastructure.

-- The Emergency Management Assistance Compact is a national mutual aid partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during certain emergencies. When a statefs resources are overwhelmed, National Guard units nationwide can fill shortfalls. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showcased the largest aid in history, with 54 states and territories sending Soldiers to the affected areas.

-- A Department of Defense asset, the Joint Task Force Civil Support works with the Department of Homeland Security or another Lead Federal Agency in the event of a national emergency, such as a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high yield explosive (CBRNE) attack. The JTF-CS integrates the Department of Defense forces for consequence management support to civil authorities.

Source: Indiana National Guard