Operation Red Dragon (civil defense exercise) explained

Exercise Red Dragon is a recurring civil defense readiness exercise conducted in Fort McCoy, Wisconsin held during the summer, training Army Reserve, National Guard units, and civilian agencies, such as fire departments, police stations, hospitals, and non-governmental organizations (i.e. American Red Cross) to improve the Defense Support of Civil Authorities capabilities for large-scale chemical defense missions.

History

As a result of the 1995 sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway and the growing concern about a terrorist chemical attack, the U.S. Congress passed laws to implement a program to train civilian agencies on responding to incidents involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).[1] In response, the U.S. Army Reserve Command's Homeland Defense Office, then under the direction of LTC Jon M. Byrom, US Army Reserve developed an annual exercise to integrate collective training with specialized HAZMAT protection and decontamination equipment for Army Reserve units with this homeland defense mission. This annual exercise began in 2004 when the 472d Chemical Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Scott S. Haraburda, was selected to provide operational command and control over nearly 400 Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high- yield Explosives (CBRNE) defense soldiers.[2] The following year, the exercise doubled in size to 800. In 2006, the 464th Chemical Brigade commanded this exercise, again under newly promoted Colonel Haraburda as the brigade commander, commanding over 1,100 chemical, military police, and medical soldiers, laying the groundwork for future training efforts with non-military organizations as part of the Defense Support of Civil Authorities for large-scale chemical defense missions. This exercise eventually grew to over 3,000 soldiers with ten civilian hospitals in 2009 and to include foreign contributions with Canadian soldiers in 2014.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Notes and References

  1. Haraburda, Scott S. . U.S. Army Reserve Support for Domestic Response to a Chemical Incident . . 46–50 . 2007 . Colonel Haraburda is a USAR officer and the Commander of the 464th Chemical Brigade. He previously commanded the 472d Chemical Battalion and participated in the first Red Dragon exercise. . 23 June 2015 . 24 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150624072220/http://www.wood.army.mil/chmdsd/images/pdfs/Jan-June_2007/Haraburda-Final.pdf . dead .
  2. Schuette, Rob . Red Dragon tests disaster response . Triad . Fort McCoy, WI . 8 September 2006 . Red Dragon began as a small exercise at Fort McCoy in 2004 with 400 Soldiers, who were mostly with chemical organizations ... The exercise grew to 800 Soldiers last year helping to respond to a chemical incident scenario that occurred on the installation. About 1,100 Soldiers from medical, military police, chaplain, and chemical units were included in the exercise this year.. 26 July 2015.
  3. Vail, Michael S. . Exercise Red Dragon 2009 and the CCMRF . Army Chemical Review . 42–43 . 2009 . About 3,000 Soldiers are expected to participate in Red Dragon 2009 at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, 13–27 June. ... This year’s exercise will involve interactions with first responders, including ten civilian hospitals, from four metropolitan areas in Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Madison, Lacrosse, and Fort McCoy. . 23 June 2015 .
  4. Web site: Hoffart, Matthew . Exercise Red Dragon 2014 . Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) . 2014 . The purpose of this visit for the Canadian contingent was to bring back new ideas and help reinvigorate Canadian CBRN doctrine for the 21st century..
  5. News: Baba, Andrew . Red Dragon exercise – CBRN training involving Canadian and U.S. Army personnel coming to a close . Ottawa Citizen . Ottawa, Ontario . 20 August 2014 . 26 July 2015.
  6. News: Schuette. Rob. Red Dragon Support Cell prepares for exercise at Fort McCoy . 17 May 2010. Triad Online. April 8, 2005.
  7. News: Castro. Samuel. http://www.sheboyganpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=U0&Date=20090617&Category=SHE01&ArtNo=906170805&Ref=PH&Params=McCoy Operation Red Dragon - Homeland Defense Training Exercise]. 17 May 2010. Sheboygan Press. June 17, 2009.
  8. News: "Operation Red Dragon" Disaster Drills Today. 3 February 2014. 620WTMJ.

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