Kentucky Guard emergency-response force conducts joint training with Georgia Guard

  • Published
  • By Sgt. Caleb Sooter
  • 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
FORT STEWART, Ga. --  Three years ago, an EF4 tornado struck the town of Mayfield, Kentucky, reducing countless homes and businesses to rubble. The local community was devastated as the tornado tore through, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. The Kentucky National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package, or CERF-P, was among the first to respond.

“When the CERF-P responded to the tornadoes in western Kentucky, we conducted search and extraction, stood by for emergency decon and assisted the community. And that’s my favorite part of it — giving back to the community I’ve lived in my entire life,” said the Kentucky Army National Guard’s Sgt. Michael Martin of the 299th Chemical Company.

During the storms, the tornado destroyed a candle factory storing hazardous materials, trapping over 100 workers in the rubble. The CERF-P swiftly responded to assist local first-responders, aiding in mitigating the hazard, rescuing trapped survivors and providing life-saving medical attention.

“The CERF-P provides vital emergency management capabilities not only for Kentucky but for the entire nation,” said Col. Brandye Williams, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Commander. “The Soldiers here — they care. When they are called upon to respond to the state, region or the nation, they’re confident in their skill sets and their equipment to actually go out and do the job."

The CERF-P is a joint-force organization of Kentucky Guard Soldiers and Airmen dedicated to providing world class intervention in cases of CBRNE attacks in the United States. CERF-P teams across the country consist of a diverse range of servicemembers, including CBRN specialists, paramedics, search-and-rescue specialists, signal and cyber specialists, and engineers. These teams unite during crises to support local first-responders and supplement state and federal emergency resources.

The Kentucky National Guard’s CERF-P consists of Soldiers from the 299th and 301st Chemical Companies; the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 103rd Chemical Battalion; and Airmen from the 123rd Airlift Wing, who form the CERF-P’s medical element, the Joint Information Site Communication Capability and the Fatality Search and Recovery Team. Together, they combine their capabilities to create a comprehensive support package in the event of a disaster.

Within each FEMA region, a number of states provide a CERF-P in support of the homeland. They all fall under the leadership of a Homeland Response Force, or HRF. Though organized by national regions established by FEMA, the CERF-P is an element of the National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security.

“The HRF is like the Brigade element that leads and manages the CERF-Ps within their region,” said Sgt. Maj. Patrick Lyons, Operations NCO and NCOIC of Region 4’s HRF. “We are an additional resource to them whenever they need it, managing logistics, providing equipment and giving additional manpower when the CERF-Ps have need, in order to help mitigate pain and suffering on the population.”

For the first time, the Kentucky National Guard’s CERF-P trained at Fort Stewart, Georgia, with Region 4’s HRF in June, enhancing their ability to respond to radiological disasters while serving the Commonwealth. As part of the training exercise, the HRF integrated personnel from the HRF’s Casualty Assistance Support Element, or CASE, to familiarize Kentucky CERF-P personnel with the HRF CASE, and vice-versa.

“This training exercise specifically focused on our ability to respond to a radiological threat,” said Lt. Col. Noy Boriboune-Holbrook, CERF-P commander. She has spent her entire career as an officer specializing in CBRN and leading troops in emergency response.

“No matter how hot it was or how hard the work was today, these soldiers never stopped being motivated," Boriboune-Holbrook said. "They knew what they had to do to succeed, and it showed.”

Performing such critical training of this scope and scale enables the CERF-P to maintain proficiency in their specialties and train their Soldiers and Airmen how to master their craft as CERF-P responders, officials said.

Kentucky’s CERF-P falls under the 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. Their mission is to ensure the safety of the state’s citizens in peacetime, and in wartime to share their expertise to counter CBRNE threats on the battlefield.

"Seeing the Soldiers go out in the heat and do their job is impressive," said 149th MEB Command Sgt. Maj. Aaron Lester. "It's great knowing these Soldiers can provide the Guard with the capability of responding to domestic emergencies. Kentucky is in good hands."