Meridian, Miss., May 16, 2011 – It may be a combat engineer outfit when it steps on to the battlefield, here at home Douglas’ 848th Engineer Company is the search and extraction element for Kennesaw’s Joint Task Force 781. Its Soldiers are here at Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Safety Training Center as part of Operation Vigilant Guard 2011.They and more than 500 Soldiers and Airmen from other states, including Florida and Mississippi, civilian first responders and role players will have converged on the training center by the time Vigilant Guard comes to an end four days from now. Here a 848th Guardsman and his fellow engineers check their radio communications before heading out onto the nearby rubble pile to begin searching for and extracting the victims of a simulated earthquake. in order to locate victims in a mock hotel collapse as a result of an earthquake. Operation Vigilant Guard 2011 is multi-state exercise that provides an opportunity for State National Guard headquarters, State joint task forces like the 781st and its elements to improve command and control, and operational relationships with local, state and federal emergency responders.

(Photos by Capt. Jacqueline Wren 648th MEB Public Affairs Office)