What do you have when there is severe flooding, a tornado touchdown damaging a local hospital, and a major power outage that affects five states including Wisconsin and Canada?  You have the makings for a statewide Emergency Service (ES) training weekend recently in Wisconsin for Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members. 

Operation DARK BADGER simulated a response to multiple Search and Rescue (SAR) and Disaster Relief (DR) incidents during a major power failure, similar to the Blackout of 2003.   "The goal is to get all of us to think about how we can successfully respond to missions even with difficulties," stated Major Nick Rushizky, Exercise Project Officer, "The basic concept is that we will be suffering a statewide power outage and will have to respond even with that issue going on."

The exercise started with a severe weather event in southeast Wisconsin. Flash flooding closed I-94 and State Highway 50 in Kenosha County.  A small tornado touched down causing "damage" to a local hospital in Elkhorn, WI.  CAP assistance was requested by local emergency management and the wing's Mobile Command Center was dispatched to the scene.

As the scenario unfolded, an Incident Command Post (ICP) was established at the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center near Tomah, WI.  Since there is no local CAP unit in the area, a field antenna system was flown in while the incident management team traveled to the location.  Once operational, the ICP coordinated operations between the Mobile Command Center and a staging area at Stevens Point, WI. 

Twelve units participated in the three day exercise; flying photo missions, tracking practice Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) and providing communications support as well as conducting local training.  Poor weather and high winds hampered some activities.  Things were further complicated on Sunday when the Wisconsin Wing (WIWG) CAP was advised that an actual lost person SAR was underway in north central Wisconsin and that CAP assistance was being recommended.   An aircrew and ground team was placed on standby for possible response, but no mission request was received.  The missing subject was located the following day. 

"While we didn't get everything done that was planned, I think it was a successful mission," commented Lt Colonel Jerry Krueger, WIWG Emergency Services Officer, "We did get people to start thinking about this contingency.  If this situation happened tomorrow, I think we would have a better handle on it."

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