By Vaughn Larson Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office | SEPT. 4, 2024 MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin National Guard’s 54th Civil Support Team faced a realistic training scenario Aug. 28, re- sponding to the discovery of a makeshift laboratory in a home renovation company warehouse. In the scenario, a warehouse worker calls 911 and members of the Madison Fire Department arrive on the scene and detect radiation. This activates the 54th CST, a specialized unit of full-time Army and Air National Guard members trained to respond to chemi- cal, biological, radiological or nuclear emergencies. Wisconsin Guard Civil Support Team Hones Readiness WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Guard Black Hawk Unit Conducts Mass Casualty Exercise By Vaughn Larson Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office | JUNE 12, 2024 SUMMIT, Wis. - The Wisconsin Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, carrying a medevac crew and notional patients from its base in West Bend, circled the helipad site before land- ing at Aurora Medical Center-Summit, completing a simulated medical transport in less than an hour. The flight, part of a mass casualty exercise with emergency and trauma center medical staff from Aurora Medical Centers in Summit and Green Bay, represents a journey that began many months ago. “This is the first step for us — crawl stage — to be able to under- stand and figure out all the details how to transfer patients safe- ly,” said Sgt. 1st Class Eric Furbee, a standardization instructor for the flight paramedics with the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment crews in West Bend. Part of the day’s training included Aurora medical staff figur- ing out how to receive three patients simultaneously from the helipad. “The procedure’s a bit different,” said Dr. Christopher George, an emergency physician at Aurora-Summit. “It’s good practice for both of us on how we receive patients as well as how they bring in patients. In this case, we went out to get the patients — typically, they would land and would be coming to us. Multiple patients come in on one Black Hawk, as opposed to Flight For Life, which brings one patient at a time. So it’s a slightly different dynamic.” The training scenario was a building collapse north of the medi- cal center. Aurora-Summit is a Level 2 trauma center, which can handle most medical injuries. Injuries suffered by the notional patients brought to Aurora-Summit by Black Hawk included a broken neck, hand amputation and burns. One patient, a medical mannequin, would later be transported to Aurora BayCare in Green Bay to simulate a medical transfer between facilities. Sgt. Stephanie Ziety, a crew chief with the West Bend unit, played the role of a patient with an unstable C-spine fracture — a broken neck.
Lt. Col. Seth Kaste, the CST team commander, said the exer- cise was very successful.
During the “combined lanes” training exercise, CST members tested their skills to prepare for the unit’s 18-month evaluation in early 2025. Two survey members entered the warehouse to search for the radiation source, secure and remove it. The exercise included a separate release of an unknown hazardous substance in a different location, requiring the team to dispatch a smaller element and respond to a team member requiring emergency medical aid. Wisconsin’s 54th CST conducts this type of training annually with U.S. Army North, the Army component of the U.S. Northern Command headquartered in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. “We conduct exercises and training like this at least month- ly,” Kaste said. “But to have members of the U.S. Army North develop the exercise and observe our team is very beneficial to our readiness. We were able to conduct a realistic training lane with expert evaluators who provided precise feedback on our processes.“
Kaste said all 22 full-time members of the CST were available for the exercise.
104
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator