Military personnel from all over the nation and local first responders are participating in emergency response training this week at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in southern Indiana.
The three weeks of field training focus on how to respond to terrorist attacks, and other emergency situations such as a nuclear blast.
The training grounds are designed to be realistic, with fields of debris and civilians acting as victims. Choppers fly overhead smoking buildings while soldiers simulate radiation decontamination.
Indianapolis Fire department captain Warren Todd says getting the chance to work with military personnel is priceless.
"A lot of times we exercise search and rescue with ourselves, our other counterparts, or other search and rescue teams fire departments," Todd says. "We get very few opportunities to interact with our counterparts from the military."
In addition to the training at Muscatatuck, emergency personnel are participating in training drills at Camp Atterbury and Indianapolis.