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Call out the National Guard

Staff Sgt. Missy Peace, 171st Civil Engineering Emergency Manager, Coraopolis, Pa., trains to use 'HAZ-ID' (Hazardous Material Identifier) equipment in a simulated domestic HazMat scenario at Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center, Savannah, Ga., during Global Guardian 2012, Feb. 16. Staff Sgt. Thomas Enyart, 138th Civil Engineering, Tulsa, Okla., instructs and evaluates Staff Sgt. Peace during the scenario. (ANG Photo By Tech Sgt. Shane P. Hill)

Staff Sgt. Missy Peace, 171st Civil Engineering Emergency Manager, Coraopolis, Pa., trains to use 'HAZ-ID' (Hazardous Material Identifier) equipment in a simulated domestic HazMat scenario at Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center, Savannah, Ga., during Global Guardian 2012, Feb. 16. Staff Sgt. Thomas Enyart, 138th Civil Engineering, Tulsa, Okla., instructs and evaluates Staff Sgt. Peace during the scenario. (ANG Photo By Tech Sgt. Shane P. Hill)

Savannah Combat Readiness Center -- When the call comes in for the National Guard to respond, some might automatically assume it is for a riot or natural disaster, harkening images of Soldiers wielding shields and batons or Airmen filling sandbags. The National Guard has been there through many instances since 1636 when a band of volunteers first swore to protect the Massachusetts Bay Colony. But the lineages of those images in the modern day National Guard are too limited.

The professional force of citizen Soldiers and Airmen are highly trained and capable of responding to so much more. A point clearly demonstrated by Air National Guard emergency managers attending the joint exercises, Global Guardian 2012. Sixty emergency managers from eight different units participated in Hazmat (Hazardous Materials) Training Feb. 13-24 at Savannah Combat Readiness Center(CRTC), Garden City, Ga. and Ft. Stewart, Ga, as part of Global Guardian 2012.