Nebraska Army and Air National Guard prepare for major national disasters through real-life simulations

YUTAN, Neb. (KLKN) – Beginning at 5:15 a.m. Friday morning, 208 Nebraska National Guard soldiers and airmen gathered at the Mead Training Center to extract victims from rubble and administer medical treatment.

This was only a simulation, but the activity tested the troop’s real-life abilities in case of a major national emergency.

“In Nebraska’s 72nd Serf-P, we have the ability to bring 208 personnel from across the Nebraska Army and Air National Guard, as well as a small detachment from the Iowa Air National Guard together to collectively meet this mission” said Lieutenant Colonel Chris Barondeau.

Barondeau says part of that mission is being ready to depart within three hours of activation.

“We’re responding as an organization to assist the first responders that are first on site who have kind of reached a culmination point as far as their capacity to be able to continue to respond to such a large-scale disaster,” he said.

With very specific skills needed to do so, Guardsmen train throughout the year.

Friday’s exercise is a test of preparedness, starting with extraction and recovery.

Sergeant Seth Grimm has been completing these missions for over a decade and now oversees recon.

“So we go down, figure out what’s going on and then we’ve got a ropes rescue team, a shoring team, a breach break lift haul,” said Grimm.

“Other teams come down and can get that person out of that situation however they need to,” he adds.

Volunteer victims were contracted to play casualties.

Those victims were carried to safety, by soldiers but before they could get treated, both victims and soldiers go through decontamination, just like they would if the curated disaster was real.

Once the victims were cleared, or decontaminated, then triage began.

A combination of doctors, nurses and medics administering life-saving care to patients.

Lieutenant Colonel Baronndeu says each year participants become more efficient.

“That means the faster that we can get on station, set up and operating, that’s lives that are getting saved,” he said.

Adding, “Today, they absolutely crushed it.”

The day wrapped up with an authentic command briefing, before the troops are evaluated by the Nebraska National Guard Bureau on Saturday.

If you are interested in joining the brave men and women of the Nebraska National Guard, you can visit their website for more information by clicking here.