McKinley visits New York on fourth day of Vigilant Guard

Story courtesy of the New York National Guard

Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, speaks with Gregg Skibitsky, commissioner of the Erie County Office of Emergency Services, during a visit to the Erie County Emergency Operations Center in Cheektowaga, N.Y. McKinley, the highest ranking officer in the National Guard visited Western New York on Nov. 4, 2009 to check on the progress of Vigilant Guard, the largest combined civil/military training exercise ever held in New York. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta, New York National Guard)
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CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y., (11/04/2009) -- Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, visited the Erie and Niagara counties on Nov. 4 as the Vigilant Guard exercise entered its fourth day.

"They're working to improve coord between local, state, & federal responders," McKinley wrote on his Twitter page.

He was escorted by Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, the adjutant general of New York, to the exercise locations as well as the Erie County Emergency Operations Center here, where he met with state, county and city emergency responders.

Army and Air National Guard general's from several states were also on hand to view the exercise and pick up lessons learned from the exercise. International observers from Mexico, South Africa and Denmark also visited.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania National Guard's Civil Support Team, trained to detect hazardous materials and chemical, biological and radiological weapons, conducted Training in Lockport, N.Y., while the New York CERFP, the team trained to extract victims from buildings destroyed by radiological, chemical, or biological weapons, went back on the "rubble pile" in Tonawanda, N.Y., for more training. The acronym CERFP stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Enhanced-yield explosive (CBRNE) - Enhanced Response Force Package

The New York Naval Militia's Military Emergency Boat Service conducted a critical infrastructure assessment exercise on the Niagara River, while Air National Guard security forces continued to train with local law enforcement agencies on security procedures.

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