Mass casualty exercise held at Mountaineer Mall

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — If you saw some military vehicles around Morgantown this week, no need to worry as the U.S. Army Reserve was conducting its usual multiple day mass casualty decontamination exercise, as it does every quarter.

This quarter’s mock situation was a burning agent dispersed at Mountaineer Mall to dozens of people, and it was up to the 300 ^th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Company to tend to the decontamination lines and the 355 ^th Medical Company Area Support’s (MCAS) medics caring for human actors and mannequins.

The exercise included dozens of soldiers, including some from Louisiana, and personnel rotating in and out of hazmat suits around every 90 minutes to prevent overheating while wearing them.

Personnel received hands on experience with the actors and mannequins, which Shaun Chaitan, Company 1 ^st Sargeant for 300 CBRN Company says is as realistic of an experience as they can get to prepare for similar situations.

“This is a great opportunity not just for us but just our soldiers as well to kind of just get that experience. Because this is real life scenario right here,” Chaitan said. “This is actually things that could really happen and for them to actually see it and actually appreciate it more, I think it helps as well with our mission overall.”

More information about the U.S. Army Reserve can be found here .

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