Ohio National Guard Civil Support Team training locally

BOWLING GREEN Ky.-In the life of a first responder, one can’t get enough training. The Ohio National Guard Civil Support Team and U.S. Army North traveled to Bowling Green for a hazardous waste simulation.

“Throughout the year, we have various scenarios where we train with local firefighters or other responders,” said Maj. Tonia McCurdy.

The scenarios include getting their gear ready to enter a building that may be contaminated with chemical biological radiological or high yield explosives.

“Collective training is valuable for us because we get to operate as a complete team. That means all my sections will be utilized in the same manner,” said Lt. Col. David Foster.

Emergencies can happen anywhere, and to ensure that the Civil Support Team is ready for any type of danger, it comes in handy to know the first responders of the community.

“Here in the state, you tend to work with a lot of the same responders, so it’s nice for us to be here,” McCurdy said.

No matter what the scenario is, the key to making sure the community is safe is to train constantly.

“The more you train, the more you understand the various situations and scenarios that you could get into. Things should be able to flow naturally. You should be able to asses a situation and see some of the other issues that come out of it, and properly plan,” McCurdy said.