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# Vigilant Guard: Colorado National Guard kicks off training with 'downed' aircraft

By Staff Sgt. Nicole Manzanares, Air National GuardJoint Task Force-Centennial Public Affairs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Colorado National Guard's aviation units and fire rescue teams, as well as the Douglas County Incident Management Team and the El Paso County Search and Rescue Team, kicked off a major training exercise Monday by responding to a notional downed aircraft.

Vigilant Guard, as the exercise was named, has been in the planning stages since 2011 and was kicked off in the still dark hours of the morning by a scenario of a military aircraft crashing in a field at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., while flying over a wildfire.

"This is invaluable training," said Lt. Chad Edwards, the El Paso County Search and Rescue team's lead coordinator. Edwards added that working alongside other agencies - military and civilian alike - is always a great training opportunity.

The mission was to locate the aircraft, provide on-scene medical care to the dozens of "injured" role players and rapidly transport them to the nearest military medical facility. Together, the agencies combed the area, searched the perimeter of the crash site and provided aid to survivors.

Additionally as part of the exercise, K-9 units were sent out with the search and rescue teams to search for the simulated injured players.

"It's always great to work with the dogs because they are more sensitive to everything that is going on, and they can drive us in the right direction - as long as you trust the dog," Edwards said.

Edwards also emphasized the importance of using these training events to get used to working with and becoming familiar with other agencies.

"You don't want to swap business cards at a real incident. Now is the time to get to know names and faces," he added.

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