Nevada Guard unit practices rubble-pile extractions Published March 20, 2013 By 010313 CARSON CITY -- The newest addition to the state of Nevada's domestic support resources, the Nevada National Guard's CERFP unit, is participating with the American Red Cross in an exercise this week to hone their catastrophe-response skills. The CERFP (pronounced surf-PEA) is a specialized military unit that provides assistance to local, state and federal agencies in the wake of disaster. CERFP is a two-part acronym: the C represents "chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive" and the ERFP represents "enhanced response force package." CERFP soldiers and airmen are specially trained in large-scale catastrophe rescue, decontamination and evacuation as well as response to weapons of mass destruction. While the event is not open to the public, Nevada media is welcome to observe the new unit in action Friday, March 22, as it participates in a domestic support exercise at the Regional Public Safety Training Center in Reno. While at the training site, media can observe the unit conducting specialized operations in the site's simulated rubble pile. WHAT: Nevada Guard CERFP Training Exercise WHO: About 190 National Guardsmen WHERE: At the "city grid" at Regional Public Safety Training Center, 5190 Spectrum Blvd, Reno (NW of the Washoe County Emergency Operations Center) WHEN: Friday, March 22, 10 a.m. MEDIA: Welcome to attend. Call Maj. April Conway at (775) 287-5592 for assistance if needed during the exercise. The fully-manned CERFP includes about 170 Nevada Guard soldiers and airmen. The majority of these Guardsmen are assigned to southern Nevada units that have assumed CERFP responsibilities as an additional duty. The Nevada Guard received about $2 million in federal monies to field the unit with specialized equipment and about $1.5 million to train the unit's soldiers and airmen in 2011. There are currently 17 CERFP units across the nation with at least one team assigned to each FEMA region. -30-