A diversion group operating in hiding, an accident involving a military vehicle, a fire of a building full of veterans, a hazard of drinking water contamination, a drama in an ice-bound water tank. As part of the emergency consequence exercises, the soldiers of the 22nd Dęblin Light Infantry Battalion and volunteer firefighters were performing in emergency situations.
Exploratory information revealed that in the territory of Garbów, Lublin Voivodeship, there is an enemy group, a diversion-disclosure group, and among the inhabitants there may be people who support its actions. On January 17, 22 Dęblinian Light Infantry Battalion forces were assigned to the area. Soldiers were given the task of conducting counter-observation, patrolling and securing key facilities within the municipality. They shortly came to test their skills with communication and coordination of actions in various situations.
Military vehicle accident
It started as if a military column had been moved. A fewer vehicles, a quiet rhythm. Suddenly, there was a collision with a passenger car and a coach. “The script assumed a large number of victims, including those trapped in a passenger vehicle, whose release required the usage of hydraulic equipment as well as injured soldiers,” says Captain Marta Gaborek, spokesperson for the 2nd Lublin Territorial Defence Brigade.
Soldiers acted side by side with firemen from OS in Garbów, Wola Przybysławska, Borków and Piotrowice Wielkie. The area of the apparent accident was secured, traffic was diverted to detours, and a region of segregation was designated on the side of the road. The prisoners were evacuated from the vehicle utilizing hydraulic equipment, and the military assisted rescuers in providing first aid to the injured.
This first episode had a clearly defined goal: to see how forces respond to a sudden, mass event that appears in the course of another tasks, without the anticipation of prior preparation.
Fire in the historical complex
When the situation on the road was contained, reports led soldiers and firefighters to action in the center of Garbov. A fire broke out in the buildings of the palace complex. According to the script's assumptions, it was an act of deliberate arson, carried out by the diversions at a gathering of veterans.
In the courtyard of the palace, the first fire trucks appeared, and soldiers took over the safety of the area and evacuation of the people inside. The narrow corridors, the smokey rooms, the people who needed immediate aid – not only the strength, but above all the precision, communication and coordination of actions. For the commanders it was a test of cooperation in the object "of social and symbolic importance", the organizers emphasize. It wasn't just about extinguishing the fire, it was about protecting people and property in conditions of expanding tension.
Background diversion
In the course of the fire-extinguishing action, further reports began to flow to the microshtage – about the possible contamination of drinking water or planned attacks on the sewage treatment plant, the power station, waterworks and the municipal office building.
The script introduced an component of war that is going below the threshold of open conflict. There were patrols in the area, part of the civilian camouflage. Stations were organised, access control was introduced, reflection was conducted and possible threats and diversions were documented. This phase was to show a different face of territorial defence troops – a formation that is to respond not only after the fact, but besides prevent the escalation and destabilisation of the local community's life.
The Ice That Breaks
The last episode took place above the reservoir. 2 firefighters and 2 municipal employees have gone missing. During safety checks, the ice broke under them.
A region of action was set on the shore, and paramedics in specialist suits entered the iceboard. Searching, fast tracking of victims, taking them out of the water and protecting them from hypothermia – it was a skill test in conditions where each minute decides to survive.
When the last study was closed, 1 thing was clear: the Garbov exercise script was not a collection of spectacular episodes, but a planned, multi-threaded and dynamic crisis consequence training, reflecting the real risks that local communities and public administration can face in peace conditions – but with increased safety threats. “These situations seldom happen individually,” emphasized the organizers. – Most frequently they are a series of successive, interrelated events requiring fast decision-making and flexible response.
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