US military trains for "America's worst day"

A military training exercise recently prepared troops to aid in the aftermath of potential hypersonic missile attacks on US cities.

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, Newsweek informs.

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.

The DUT exercise was led by Army National Guard's Task Force 46, which mainly includes soldiers from the Michigan National Guard. Over 600 additional personnel from federal, state, local, academic and private partners took part in the three-day exercise, according to the Guard.

"This is an opportunity to train firsthand with some of the best first responders in the world who do this day in and day out," Army National Guard Colonel Chris McKinney, Task Force 46 chief of staff, told Army Times.

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.