Utah Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Holly Mclelland checks on a simulated victim while training with the Search and Extraction Team at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. The training is part of Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force readiness validation exercise, preparing to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
By Deseret News Photographers

Utah Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Holly Mclelland checks on a simulated victim while training with the Search and Extraction Team at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday. The training is part of Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force readiness validation exercise, preparing to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events.

The evaluation exercise, held Aug. 3-7, takes place every three years.

“This year’s evaluation exercise is particularly important, in light of the effects of COVID nation-wide, it has been more than three years since the Region VIII HRF received an evaluation,” said Lt. Col. Erick Wiedmeier, commander of the Region VIII HRF. “We are anxious to demonstrate that our service members are trained and ready to serve the citizens of our nation during any situation.”

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The Utah National Guard’s response team is comprised of trained and ready domestic emergency responders capable of managing a catastrophic event in the region, including Utah, Colorado, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming.

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Staff Sgt. Troy Jacobs and Cpl. Kobi Noleroth, both with the Utah Army National Guard, help raise a cement block to extract a simulated victim while training with the Search and Extraction Team at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. The training is part of Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force readiness validation exercise, preparing to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Utah Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Holly Mclelland rappels down the side of a structure while training with the Search and Extraction Team at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. The training is part of Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force readiness validation exercise, preparing to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Spc. Jared Crowley and Spc. Evan King, both with the Utah Army National Guard, move Molly Brooks, who is role playing as a mustard gas explosion victim with a broken leg, into a decontamination tent as the Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Spc. James Hinkson and Spc. Victor Osemwegie, both with the Utah Army National Guard, move Andrew Guest, who is playing the role of a chemical burn victim, as Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Make-up artists created a realistic looking injury on Guest’s head. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Sgt. Todd Ross and Capt. Dallin Peterson, both with the Utah Army National Guard, update and track requests for personnel, equipment and mission critical information as the Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams in Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Spc. Victor Osemwegie and Spc. Daniel Salomone, both with the Utah Army National Guard, move Emma Rentz, who is role playing as a mustard gas explosion victim, from a decontamination tent to a medical tent as Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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A woman is treated for a simulated ankle injury as the Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Make-up artists created realistic looking injuries on civilians role playing as victims. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Members of the Utah Army National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force decontaminate a woman role playing as a mustard gas victim as they train to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Patty Dwyer, who is role playing as a mustard gas explosion victim, is transported on a gurney as Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise at Camp Williams near Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Utah National Guard’s VIII Homeland Response Force trains to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or all-hazard events during a readiness validation exercise in the command post at Camp Williams in Bluffdale on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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