Hundreds of military members and emergency workers gathered in Philadelphia last week to simulate the aftermath of a simultaneous hypersonic missile strike on Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago, according to the Army Times.
The Dense Urban Terrain (DUT) exercise imagines a hypothetical scenario the military calls "America's worst day." Emergency workers and soldiers aided at least 150 role players sporting fake wounds and acting out potential symptoms from an unknown chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack.
In addition to running through scenarios that included rescuing role players trapped in collapsed buildings or subways following hypersonic missile attacks, troops and emergency workers used detection and decontamination gear to deal with the aftermath of a potential CBRN fallout.
"It's great training that helps us prepare for the mission if ever something should happen," said Army Private 1st Class Elliotte Villafan, a decontamination soldier. "Any kind of chemical, radiological or nuclear attack—we would be there to support civilian units, as in firefighters, police department. As well as also working with partnering units, as in medical. It's great partnership across the board to help the American public."
