Maine Army National Guard, MEMA Announce Emergency Preparedness Exercise

The Maine Army National Guard and Maine Emergency Management Agency announced the Maine Vigilant Guard exercise 2013 will kick off Tuesday, Nov. 5. National Guard soldiers and airmen, first-responders, emergency managers and voluntary agencies will conduct large-scale training exercises at venues across the state.

The University of Maine will host one of the exercises on the Orono campus Nov. 5–6. UMaine will provide a mock laboratory in Holmes Hall where emergency response teams will practice investigating and eliminating risks that might arise in real-life settings. Maine National Guard and local first-responder units, including the Orono Fire Department, will be on campus for the two-day event. UMaine’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) also will be activated.

The Vigilant Guard exercise is part of a series of training sponsored by the U.S. Northern Command and the National Guard Bureau aimed at improving command, control, operational relationships and interagency coordination with local, state and regional civilian and military emergency response partners.

A Maine Army National Guard news release describing the statewide exercise is available online.