(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Denis B. Ricou)
PINEVILLE, La. – Soldiers and Airmen with the Louisiana National Guard and civilian partner agencies will participate in the annual statewide Disaster Response Exercise (DRX) designed to test the capabilities of various local, state, federal, and non-governmental agencies, April 20-22.
The exercise, organized and coordinated by the LANG and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), will involve field training missions happening at the Lake Charles Convention Center, Fort Polk, the Regional Support Area (RSA) in Roseland, Pimco Boat Launch, the Fort Buhlow Recreational Area and New Roads.
At Fort Polk, Guardsmen will train with active-duty soldiers on protecting critical infrastructure after a major weather event.
At Lake Buhlow in Pineville, Guardsmen will conduct integrated air search and rescue operations, boat rescue operations, and aerial sling load operations of super sacks.
At the Pimco Boat Launch, Guardsmen will conduct boat and high-water vehicle rescue operations.
At the Regional Staging Area (RSA) in Roseland, Guardsmen will be conducting operations involving the receiving and distributing of commodities to POD locations throughout the DRX, just as they do in a real-world emergency event.
In New Roads, Guardsmen will conduct integrated air search and rescue operations, boat rescue operations, point of distribution operations, lily pad operations, and flood-water mitigation emplacement operations.
At the Lake Charles Civic Center, Guardsmen will establish a point of distribution (POD), conduct search and rescue operations with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and conduct aerial sling load and search and rescue operations.
Article by KVPI News – https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/la-guard-and-partner-agencies-to-participate-in-statewide-disaster-exercise/article_bf7fbba9-69a3-58b5-bb0b-417b21503749.html
Originally published on ktbs.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.