JENNINGS COUNTY — Even as the last of winter fades away, the Summer-Surge of military activity will begin throughout the area on the last day of March.
“The title Summer-Surge isn’t an official term but that is what we call the increase of training activity at both Camp Atterbury (CA) and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center (MUTC). Local citizens will notice an increase of military activity on their highways, in the sky and throughout their own communities,” said Indiana National Guard Capt. Jessie J. Bien, public affairs officer.
“Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck host military training events for members of all components of the military all year long, but during the next few months, training will increase radically,” she said. “From the numbers in front of me, I can see that there will be around 5,000 additional military personnel and emergency responders training here each month for the next three months.”
On March 31, Reserve Component soldiers and civilians from all 50 states will begin arriving in the area to to attend Cyber Shield 19. Cyber Shield is a national level exercise designed to train personnel to defend against cyber attacks on military, government and private sector high-tech information systems.
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Cyber Shield will end on April 20 and two days later, the largest emergency response training exercise in the nation will begin.
Around 5,000 soldiers and civilians from across the nation will participate in Guardian Response 19 and Vibrant Response 19 exercises that will take place at Camp Atterbury, Muscatatuck, the North Vernon Airport and the Jennings County Fairgrounds.
The Guardian Response and Vibrant Response exercises are sponsored by U.S. Army North and U.S. Forces Command (FORSCOM) and hosted by the Indiana National Guard. The exercises are designed to train military and civilian agencies to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks on civilian communities.
Because so many different agencies would be involved in recovering from these types of attacks, the Guardian Response and Vibrant Response exercises were designed to help train various emergency response agencies to work together.
“During a catastrophic event, U.S. Army North would be in support of our federal, state and local partners,” said U.S. Army North Public Affairs Office spokesman Randy Mitchell. “Typically the Federal Emergency Management Agency is the designated federal agency. However we work with all federal and state agencies responding as the lead for the Department of Defense support.”
The Guardian Response and Vibrant Response exercises will end May 22.
According to Bien, immediately following the Cyber Shield, Guardian Response and Vibrant Response national exercises, National Guard Units from around the state as well as other agencies will begin flowing into both Atterbury and Muscatatuck for other unit training exercises.
“Right now, I only have the figures for training through June but I can tell you there will be increased training through out the summer months and you will see the effects on the highways as the units come and go,” said Bien.
Bien explained while there will be some delays and inconveniences for the nearby neighbors of Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck, and there will be some additional benefits for the community as well.
Economic impact numbers estimate as much as $2 million will be infused in the local economy just during the Guardian and Vibrant Response exercises and that doesn’t even include the economic impact on restaurants and retail establishments, Bien said.
