Soldiers with the 42nd Civil Support Team (CST) sprang into action the morning of Sept. 26, 2017 in response to a call from Wake County Emergency Management that there were suspicious packages and a man caught with two bags of powder near the ventilation system at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.
Luckily, the call was part of a training scenario meant to keep the 42nd CST proficient in their skills, and give Wake County Emergency Management an opportunity to understand the capabilities of the North Carolina Army National Guard.
“Each of us on the team takes turns setting up a one or two day scenario for the rest of the team as a proficiency test,” said SSG Jason Warrick, a health care NCO with the 42nd CST.
The 42nd has a federal evaluation once about every 18 months. Between those events, they create their own test scenarios, not only to prepare for federal evaluations, but also to ensure they stay ready for a real world event.
“Because we have the possibility of being called out with little or no notice, we have to make sure that we are constantly ready to perform at our highest level,” SSG Warrick said. “The more you train and the more realistic you train, the better you’re going to perform. We see ourselves getting better over time.”
To get the most realistic training possible, the Soldiers of the 42nd plan most of their scenarios to involve other security, law enforcement and emergency management services.
“It’s very important for us,” said Darshan Patel, an emergency management specialist with Wake County Emergency Management. “It helps us understand what capabilities there are outside of our local area, and it helps us to make sure we can work together, communicate together, and complete missions together before we have an actually event that happens in our area.”
Larry Perkins, the vice president and assistant general manager of PNC Arena said he hopes that by having the 42nd train at the large venue, both the Soldiers and Arena staff will be better prepared should a real incident occur.
“The more familiar [they] are with the facility, the better for us and for them,” Perkins said. “We know how to make decisions if something real happens. Our approach is to be proactive so the patrons don’t have to worry.”
BY SSG Mary Junell, NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD
