PHOTOS: Kentucky Air National Guard conducts earthquake response training ‘Exercise Grindstone’
PADUCAH, Ky. (FOX 56) — If you live in Kentucky, chances are you’ve heard reports of earthquake activity periodically, but did you know the Bluegrass is home to the most active seismic area on the East Coast?
posted on social media that Paducah, situated in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, made the perfect place to conduct earthquake response training from May 13 to 15, known as “Exercise Grindstone.”
The three-day exercise at Barkley Regional Airport involved more than 30 Kentucky Air National Guard airmen and three C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, officials wrote.
Two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 165th Airlift Squadron taxi into Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
An airman from the 123rd Contingency Response Group marshals a C-130J Super Hercules from the Kentucky Air National Guard down a taxiway at Murray-Calloway County Airport in Murray. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
A crew chief with the 123rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron inspects the wings of a C-130J Super Hercules at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
(U.S. Air National Guard phot by Dale Greer)
A combat controller from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron parachutes into Barkley Regional Airport. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
Maj. Felicia Evans, a nurse from the 123rd Medical Group, stabilizes a simulated patient May 14, 2025, during a flight from Murray to Paducah, Ky., aboard a Kentucky Air National Guard C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The event was part of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation staged in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the most active seismic area in the Eastern United States. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
Loadmasters from the 165th Airlift Squadron load a pallet of water onto a C-130J Super Hercules at the Kentucky Air National Guard base in Louisville, Ky., May 14, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The water was being airlifted to Paducah, Ky., for humanitarian relief efforts as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Tech. Sgt. Austin Goldman, a radio systems technician with the 123rd Contingency Response Group, tests radio equipment at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 14, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The unit’s Airmen established a cargo hub at the airport to manage the distribution of humanitarian relief supplies as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group secure structural supports to a cargo truck at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 13, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone. The three-day simulation tested the unit’s ability to provide humanitarian-relief capabilities after an 8-magnitude earthquake. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Annaliese Billings)
Master Sgt. Alex Klosterman, a weather craftsman from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group, helps load a pallet of water onto a Kentucky Army National Guard truck at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 14, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The water was being driven to nearby counties for humanitarian relief efforts as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Members of the Kentucky National Guard load pallets of water onto a truck at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 14, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The Kentucky Army National Guard’s 1792nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion drove the water to nearby counties for humanitarian relief efforts as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
A member of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group uses a forklift to offload a pallet of water from a C-130J Super Hercules at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 14, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The water was being sent to nearby counties for humanitarian relief efforts as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Members of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group offload pallets of water from a C-130J Super Hercules at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 14, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The Airmen established a cargo hub at the airport to manage the distribution of humanitarian relief supplies as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
A loadmaster from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 165th Airlift Squadron boards a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 13, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a three-day earthquake-response scenario staged in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Paducah lies within the zone, the most active seismic area in the Eastern United States, and could serve as an air hub in the event of an large-scale earthquake (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
Fuels technicians from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing prepare to offload aviation fuel from a C-130J Super Hercules at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 14, 2025, as part Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. Paducah lies within the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the most active seismic area in the Eastern United States. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Master Sgt. John Hart, a crew chief with the 123rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, inspects the wings of a C-130J Super Hercules at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., May 13, 2025, prior to the aircraft’s departure for an earthquake-response exercise in Western Kentucky. The three-day exercise tasked multiple agencies, including the Kentucky Army National Guard and the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard direct the offloading of an all-terrain forklift from a C-130J Super Hercules at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 13, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The unit’s Airmen were tasked with standing up an aerial port to function as a cargo hub and evacuation center as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Annaliese Billings)
Members of the Kentucky Air National Guard use an R-11 refueler to load fuel onto C-130J Super Hercules at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 14, 2025, in support of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. The unit’s Airmen established a cargo hub at the airport to manage the distribution of humanitarian relief supplies as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Master Sgt. Brian Milburn, a loadmaster with the 123rd Contingency Response Group, directs a Kentucky Air National Guard C-130J Super Hercules at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., May 13, 2025, during Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation. Paducah lies within the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the most active seismic area in the Eastern United States. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Pilots from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 165th Airlift Squadron fly a C-130J Super Hercules over Paducah, Ky., May 13, 2025, after delivering cargo for Exercise Grindstone, a three-day earthquake-response exercise. This cargo was used to stand up an aerial port to function as a cargo hub and evacuation center as part of the earthquake scenario. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Annaliese Billings)
Kentucky Air National Guard’s 165th Airlift Squadron directs the offloading of a truck from a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
Airmen from a 123rd Medical Group Critical Care Air Transport Team stabilize a simulated patient May 14, 2025, during a flight from Murray to Paducah, Ky., aboard a Kentucky Air National Guard C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The event was part of Exercise Grindstone, a major earthquake-response simulation staged in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the most active seismic area in the Eastern United States. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
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Leaders of the exercise said the airmen and planes were deployed to operate a cargo hub and evacuation center at the airport, simulating how officials could respond in the event of a large-scale earthquake in the area.
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