Northwest Missouri State University will host its annual Missouri Hope emergency response field training exercise Oct. 7-9 and invites students, employees and community members to work in volunteer roles during the exercise.

Missouri Hope is a multidisciplinary mass casualty training experience at Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area (MOERA) and the Mozingo Youth Camp.

More than 600 volunteers of all ages are needed to play the roles of victims and bring a sense of reality to the training. Role players are made-up to resemble victims with an assortment of physical injuries sustained from natural disasters such as a flood, tornado or forest fire. Individuals interested in volunteering should register online by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, by clicking here.

“The volunteer role players gain experience by seeing how such an operation works and how things as varied as communications, medical training, boating experience, physical fitness, fire suppression and even chemistry play a role in rescue efforts,” Dr. Peter Adam, a Northwest assistant professor of biology who assists with the training experience, said.

Missouri Hope, which is required for students studying majors or minors in emergency and disaster management (EDM), includes 12 distinct training exercises for Northwest students as well as emergency personnel in medical, police, fire and armed forces. Exercises include search and rescue, assessment of traumatic injuries and evacuation from difficult terrains, such as cliffs and rivers.

The event is sponsored each fall by Northwest’s Consortium for Humanitarian Service and Education. Partner agencies include Maryville Public Safety, Nodaway and Buchanan County Emergency Management, Nodaway County Ambulance District, LifeFlight and LifeNet Air Ambulances, SEMA Region H Marine Hazmat Team, the 129th Field Artillery Battalion Missouri Army National Guard and the 139th Airlift Wing of the Missouri National Guard. The exercise also attracts students from colleges and universities throughout the country.

For more information about Missouri Hope and volunteering as a role player, contact Adam at padam@nwmissouri.edu.