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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. — Pennsylvania National Guard Soldiers with the 35th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Emergency Response Force Package conducted a CBRN response exercise here Sept. 2-3, 2026.

The purpose of the exercise was to train Soldiers to learn how to rescue people from a collapsed or damaged structure while preventing further collapse and mitigating chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear hazards.

The training focused on search and extraction, structural stabilization and decontamination as part of a crawl-walk-run approach.

Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Johnson, a noncommissioned officer with the 35th CERFP, said his experience with the team has provided opportunities to serve communities across Pennsylvania in a variety of missions.

“I am actually a combat engineer at the 856th Engineering Company on drill weekends, and I was first voluntold to do this, and then I fell in love with it,” said Johnson.

Johnson said the unit’s capabilities have extended beyond search and extraction and decontamination.

“We are not just all about search and extraction and decontamination," Johnson said. "We traveled all over the state and did fit testing for nurses in hospitals and long-term care facilities. We were able to assist to the best of our abilities. We have our hands in a lot of different things, and we are able to assist in a lot of different elements around the state whenever we are called.

“Due to all those that volunteered, we actually set up the first mobile testing site in the state of Pennsylvania during COVID,” Johnson added. “That is something we are definitely proud to be able to do.”

The mission extends beyond simply finding and removing casualties. Training emphasizes how responders can navigate collapsing structures, work efficiently through hazardous environments and communicate with other response teams.

Staff Sgt. Ann Marie Rosario, a CBRN specialist with the 128th Chemical Company, served on Operational Support orders with the 35th CERFP and helped lead decontamination training during the exercise.

“I’ve been doing this since 2017, so I’d say I’m pretty experienced in it,” said Rosario. “I’ve been through all of the lanes, so I’m able to teach them.”

For Rosario, the experience has also helped shape her professional interests outside of the military and with the CERFP in supporting her educational goals.

“It allowed me to grow a love for chemistry and some interest in biology," Rosario said. "I’m a year in now, getting my bachelor’s in emergency management because of this. The hands-on nature of the training is one of the aspects that makes the CERFP mission different from a typical drill weekend.”

Training scenarios incorporated role players dressed as casualties, allowing Soldiers to practice responding to people experiencing realistic injuries and distress while moving through the decontamination process.

“Not only is it a bit more real, but the Soldiers are actually getting that hands-on repetition that could possibly help us out if there’s ever any form of incident,” Rosario said. “The training prepares Soldiers to respond to a variety of emergencies and provides capabilities that can be used throughout the Commonwealth."

Through realistic training, hands-on repetition and a willingness to support communities beyond traditional military missions, the Pennsylvania National Guard continues to build its ability to respond when emergencies occur. It also helps reinforce their motto Always Ready, Always There.

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. — As the battlefield continually shifts toward unmanned aircraft systems, Fort Indiantown Gap is expanding its UAS and counter-UAS training opportunities.

Several ranges at the installation have been altered in recent months to allow for UAS and counter-UAS training so service members are prepared when they are deployed to hostile environments, said Kurt Spieles, the Gap’s range program coordinator.

“Small, unmanned aircraft systems have become a defining and complex component of the modern battlefield,” Spieles said. “Soldiers and units training at Fort Indiantown Gap need realistic, hands-on experience operating UAS for their own missions and, just as critically, detecting, tracking and defeating hostile drones before they can inflict harm upon them.

“Counter-UAS proficiency is no longer a niche skill set, but a core survivability requirement for any unit with the potential to deploy,” Spieles added.

Range 35, which is located in the training corridor between Blue and Second mountains, now includes a quadcopter and fixed-wing live-fire concept that allows users to engage drones with M249 or M240B machine guns.

The concept includes the capability to engage fixed-wing drones referred to as “wings,” fixed-wing gliders deployed by payload-capable quadcopters, and “attritable” first-person-view, or FPV, quadcopter drones.

Range 20, which is located along Range Road, has been modified to incorporate a counter-UAS team into a fire and maneuver squad. A team can bound forward on the range and engage ground targets with 5.56mm rounds and sporting clays with shotguns.

A large trench was also added that allows users to take up a defensive posture and engage clays with shotguns or ground targets with rifles. Clay throwers can be placed in various locations on the range and are thrown toward users to replicate high-speed one-way attack drones.

Together with the UAS Training and Innovation Facility, the range program is developing an inert FPV gunnery range on Range 6A, which is directly across Range Road from the UASTIF.

This range will allow pilots to fly FPV one-way attack drones directly into targets using a soft impact target backstop, constructed of large wooden frames with netting similar to that found in a batting cage. This allows multiple impacts with little to no damage to the drones.

Additionally, the range program facilitated the transport and assembly of an FPV drone maneuver training facility on the UASTIF grounds. Pilots can fly around and through shipping containers that have been modified and arranged to resemble a small village.

Fort Indiantown Gap continuously updates its ranges and training areas to mirror real-world threat evolution rather than static, outdated concepts, Spieles said.

“This includes integrating small UAS operations and counter-UAS response into range and maneuver training and developing in-house sUAS capability, including 3D-printed airframes to keep pace with rapidly changing commercial and military drone technology at a fraction of traditional timelines and costs,” Spieles said. “This adaptive approach ensures soldiers train against realistic, current threat profiles rather than legacy assumptions.”

In addition to the changes at these ranges, numerous upgrades are currently underway at the UASTIF, which was selected recently to host two significant UAS training programs. Upgrades at the UASTIF include two classrooms, a simulator room, a locker room and office space.

Col. Kevin Potts, Fort Indiantown Gap’s garrison commander, said that as the threat environment on the modern battlefield continues to evolve, the integration of UAS and counter-UAS training is crucial.

“At Fort Indiantown Gap, our goal is to ensure that our service members have access to modern, realistic training through innovation and outside-the-box thinking,” Potts said. “Through this we are providing ranges for UAS and counter-UAS training in order to equip our warfighters with the critical skills they need to win on a multi-domain battlefield."

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Army National Guard activated the 856th Combat Engineer Company – Infantry during a ceremony at here July 26, officially establishing the unit under the 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team.

The activation supports the 56th MBCT’s ongoing transformation as the brigade adapts its force structure to meet future operational requirements while expanding its combat engineering capabilities in support of infantry operations.

The company is headquartered in Spring City, Pennsylvania, with a detachment located at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia.

The ceremony featured the unfurling of the company guidon, formally marking the establishment of the 856th Combat Engineer Company – Infantry and the beginning of the unit’s legacy within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

“When I had the distinct honor of taking command in June of 2024, we were Bravo Company, 876th Brigade Engineer Battalion,” said Capt. Richard L. Taylor III, commander of the 856th Combat Engineer Company – Infantry.“Three different unit designations, two different brigades and multiple battalion alignments—all in a span of just two years.”

Taylor said the company has adapted through each organizational change while remaining focused on readiness and mission accomplishment.

“Through every new chain of command and every shift in organizational structure, this company never wavered,” Taylor said.“You adapted to different battalions, integrated into different brigades and continued to execute.”

The company provides combat engineering capabilities that support infantry forces through mobility, survivability and breaching operations, enabling freedom of maneuver during combat operations.

“We do this to ensure that our infantry brothers and sisters can close with and destroy the enemy,” Taylor said.

Col. Christopher McLaud, commander of the 56th MBCT, said the activation represents more than the establishment of a new unit.

“An activation ceremony is more than the establishment of another unit on an organizational chart,” McLaud said.“It is the beginning of a legacy.”

McLaud challenged the company’s leaders to build a culture founded on discipline, trust and stewardship.

“Set high standards, enforce discipline with fairness, develop your junior leaders and never lose sight of your obligation to take care of Soldiers and their families,” McLaud said.

Taylor said the company is scheduled to transition Oct. 1 to the 856th Combat Engineer Company – Mobile under the 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade but emphasized that the organization’s purpose will remain unchanged.

“No matter what brigade patch is on our shoulders, no matter what battalion headquarters we report to, our mission remains exactly the same. We train to absolute lethality. We take care of one another. And we accomplish every mission to the highest standard, without excuse,” Taylor said.