Preparing for the worst

"Rescue. Can anyone hear me?"

The loud voices of National Guard members searching for victims echoed throughout the area of trees, wrecked vehicles and other debris.

National Guard members - including two from Campbellsville's unit - participated in training exercises last week to learn techniques to search for people who need rescuing.

National Guard members met at the Kentucky Fire-Rescue Area 14 Training Center on Old Greensburg Road on Friday to participate in a day full of classroom discussion, mock rescue missions and field exercises.

The training, called GEST or Guard Emergency Search Teams, included basic light search and rescue operations.

According to Brig. Gen. Howard P. Hunt III, assistant adjutant general for Air and Kentucky Air National Guard in Frankfort, the training was geared toward helping National Guard first responders to safely search and rescue victims of natural disasters and other catastrophic events.

Hunt said National Guard training is being taken to a higher level and guard members across Kentucky are learning new techniques to become self-aware and remain safe during field missions.

The training was comprised of three stations, Hunt said.

The first offered guard members a refresher course in carrying and removing victims from a building. The second taught field triage and combat life saving skills and the last was a mock field rescue exercise.

Hunt said the training is part of an effort to bring National Guard members to a new level of preparedness and readiness to keep Kentuckians safe.

- Staff Writer Calen McKinney can be reached at 465-8111 Ext. 235 or by e-mail at reporter@cknj.com. Comment on this story at www.cknj.com.