Flying in 10-man teams on four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, that’s exactly what the 220th did at the West Metro Fire Training Center in Lakewood, Colo., Aug. 7.

Responding to a hypothetical disaster scenario, Soldiers of Colorado’s National Guard Reaction Force boarded Black Hawks at the Denver Armory and were quickly transported to a landing zone near the incident site. From there, the MPs marched to the site and rapidly set up a secure perimeter.

The NGRF’s mission for the event was to provide critical site security, to include controlling the flow of traffic in and out of the site at the access points, and to provide a quick reaction force at entry points to the site, said Warrant Officer David Brubaker, property book officer for Colorado’s 193rd Military Police Battalion, who was an observer and controller for the exercise.

“My job is to evaluate the MPs to make sure that they’re acting within Army and National Guard standards” said Brubaker.  “I’m also here to validate that they are prepared to perform this type of mission in the ‘real world.’”

One particular mission was a simulation of an earthquake at a chemical facility, an event likely to trigger large groups of civilians to approach the site. A desire for information combined with the inherent fears from a natural disaster can lead to good intentions paving the road to disaster. Without proper training or protective gear, and a situation that is not fully understood, the civilians can quickly become their own worst enemy.

Site security is critical to an exercise or actual event like this because it allows other teams – such as the Colorado National Guard’s  CERPF-P (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosives, [CBRNE]-Enhanced Response Force Package) and Colorado Task Force-One (civilian first responders) – to complete their mission within a secure environment, said Goodwin. Civil disturbances interrupt operations for first responders and other organizations that are critical to controlling and recovering from such events – and the longer first responders are delayed from their mission increases casualties and minimizes safety.

“We need to be ready to provide security to an emergency site like this in the event that the state and local law enforcement cannot meet the demands,” said Brubaker.

The Citizen-Soldiers were drilled on multiple security scenarios. Civilian role players tested the patience and abilities of the MPs with passive and active resistance – and even full-blown civil disturbances. Role players who became violent or refused to depart the area were detained and taken into custody, then turned over to civilian law enforcement.

The NGRF is equipped with non-lethal capabilities to enhance their ability to provide force protection for NGRF, CERF-P and CO-TF1 personnel. When a full-blown riot erupted, the NGRF quickly donned personal protective gear such as face and body shields with shin guards, and counter-personnel equipment, to include Tasers®, oleoresin capsicum spray and riot batons. Within moments, the potentially harmful situation was defused and instigators were in custody.

The NGRF provides a combat arms force of 75-125 Guard personnel ready to deploy within eight hours, and up to 375 personnel within 24 hours. Serving under the command and control of the governor, the NGRF is designed for quick response to such events. Soldiers are capable of responding and assisting in the protection of critical infrastructure, other state and national assets, and any other missions that promote stability and security.

Critical to the first-line of counter-terrorism defense, the NGRF can respond to an incident ahead of federal assets and can be logistically self-sustaining for up to 72 hours – that’s three days of operational readiness that gets to the site and secures the area so civilian authorities can safely conduct their missions.

Approximately 600 Citizen-Soldiers, -Airmen, first responders, evaluators and role players participated in the exercise. The NGRF played an integral role to the simulation and participated within realistic training environments.

“This type of training is extremely valuable to us,” said Goodwin. “We have to be trained up and ready to respond to an emergency like this.”