Department of Defense

Bellows Air Force Station, HI – Members of the Hawaii National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, high-yield Explosive Response Force Package (CERF-P) will be participating in an evaluation from March 5 to 9, 2013, at Bellows Air Force Station, Hawaii. The evaluation examines the CERF-P’s ability to respond to a mass casualty event in a contaminated area.

 

The Hawaii CERF-P Team, established in 2004, is evaluated biennially with a primary mission of Homeland Defense, but they typically respond to earthquakes, floods, or storm cleanup. Although there has never been an incident involving weapons of mass destruction in Hawaii, the Hawaii National Guard CERF-P has special equipment, training and readiness for such an event. The CERF-P teams are trained to locate and extract victims from a contaminated environment, perform mass patient/casualty decontamination, and provide treatment as necessary to stabilize patients for evacuation. The CERF-P teams are a key element of the Department of Defense’s overall program to provide military support to civil authorities in the event of a natural or human-caused disaster.

 

Media are invited to see a portion of the training and evaluation on March 6, 2013. Interested media are asked to meet at the Bellows main gate at 10:00 a.m.

 

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For more information, contact:

 

Lt. Col. Charles Anthony

 

Public Affairs Officer

 

Phone: (808) 733-4258