Nearly 600 service members from the New York, New Jersey

Nearly 600 service members from the New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico National Guard conduct a disaster response training exercise at the New York State Preparedness Training Center here from April 28 - May 2, 2014. The National Guard members are a part of the FEMA Region II Homeland Response Force. Here, members of the Search and Extraction Team learn from External Evaluators, known as observer/controller trainers from the Joint Interagency Training and Education Center. The unit conducted their validation evaluation on May 2. Civilian first responders and specially trained role players were brought in for the exercise in order to create a more realistic environment. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Patricia Austin, Joint Force Headquarters, NY)