Vibrant Response exercise demonstrates US homeland security preparedness

The recently concluded Vibrant Response 13 exercise has demonstrated that the US military is ready to handle a major catastrophe, such as a nuclear explosion, on the homeland.

The exercise, which saw the participation of about 9,000 service members from 26 July to 13 August, was aimed to confirm the capabilities of various elements of the Department of Defence’s (DOD) chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, known as CBRN. response enterprise.

Held on 11 training areas across 5,000 square miles in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, the exercise saw troops reacting to the simulated detonation of a 10-kiloton nuclear detonation in a major Midwestern city, reported ASDNews.

US Army North deputy commander Maj. Gen. Walter L. Davis said the exercise demonstrated that should something like this occur in the country, it has the Department of Defense capability with trained and ready response forces to deal with the situation.

"It’s really kind of heartwarming and gratifying to see the people who are training, as an example, in search and rescue or search and recovery operations, putting on personal protective equipment and digging through rubble, and staying in it for minutes, hours, long periods of time to rescue somebody," said Davis.

The army will continue evaluation and further testing through at least October, although the exercise officially concluded.

Vibrant Response evaluated performance in a realistic setting to confirm the capability of the Defense CBRN Response Force as well as the Command and Control CBRN Consequence Response Elements B- team (C2CRE-B), which consist of about 1,500 personnel that will support DOD’s CBRN response capability from October.

The exercise served as both validation for C2CRE-B as they prepare to take on their mission, as well as sustainment training for C2CRE-A, said Davis, adding that the exercise will continue, in order to maintain America’s CBRNE response capability.

"These are forces that don’t have a lot training days during the year. And so, we will really have to continue to emphasize, maximizing as we go through the course of next year, the collective training for those units as they return back to their installations."

Preparations for Vibrant Response exercise in 2013 have already started.