Jerry Petersen
Verizon Response Teams joined the U.S. Air Force, the Mississippi National Guard and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in PATRIOT 24, a training exercise meant to prepare participants to carry out rapid response work following natural disasters.
During the exercise, participants trained for a variety of tasks, including search and rescue, chemical and radiological response and major debris removal, which were practiced amid multiple realistic crisis scenarios, like a hurricane-damaged hospital suffering from communication failure and a tornado-induced nuclear radiation leak, Verizon said Thursday.
The wireless carrier company sent four Response Teams to PATRIOT 24: the Major Emergency Response Incident Team, which possesses certification for hazardous materials; the Dedicated Impact Response Team, which is trained to make connectors or cables, conduct basic generator repairs and deploy mobile satellite assets; the Emergency Response Team, which works to support wireline operations and specializes in fiber connection restoration; and the Frontline Crisis Response Team, which works to provide emergency communication assistance.
The exercise took place in and around Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The event lasted for six days.
