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The National Guard is the US military's reserve force, offering manpower, equipment, and expertise for missions abroad but also providing America’s first line of defense at home.
When there's a natural disaster or a threat to public safety that law enforcement alone can't handle, the Guard kicks into action. It is constantly preparing itself for new and emerging threats, be they nuclear, chemical, biological, or a natural disaster.
We recently watched the New Jersey National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry participate in a drill to practice how they would respond to a possible nuclear or chemical emergency without warning and with no immediate explanation of what was happening. The snap exercise aimed to duplicate the conditions of an actual unfolding threat and showed how the Guard keeps itself prepared for even a worst-case scenario.
The National Guard team arrives early in the morning on a frigid November day. The drill is as much a test of endurance as a test of skills, with the team working out in the cold for eight hours or more.
Arm & Hammer Park, home of the minor league Trenton Thunder baseball team, was the site of the drill. The military chooses locations for tests like these by picking “high-value targets” that would be likely to be hit by an attack, like sporting venues and theaters.
The New Jersey team, and every other National Guard team, is tested every 18 months in high-pressure, high-stakes role plays like this one.
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