Scenarios Create 'realistic' training

  • Published
  • By Will Huntington
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Wright-Patterson Air Force Base personnel faced a series of events designed to complete several annual exercise requirements and evaluate the installation's ability to respond to emergencies base-wide November 2-6.

Activities started early November 2 as the Emergency Operations Center was activated to coordinate and facilitate search and recovery efforts following a tornado senario. The exercise was, in reality, the conclusion of one started earlier this year, but terminated because of real world events.

While the SAR operation in the field mainly tasked Civil Engineer and Force Support personnel, a host of others assisted in the effort. Tasks included locating and marking simulated human remains and coordinating their removal.

A CE survey crew, using Global Positioning System devices, provided exact coordinates for remains whenever found. GPS is a space-based satellite navigation system which provides a nearly precise location of the receiver when four or more GPS satellites orbiting the earth have an unobstructed line of sight to it.

Some exercise events around the installation throughout the week focused on individual units and their ability to respond to emergencies.

The 88th Medical Group personnel responded to a food vulnerability event designed to assess the Group's ability to implement their medical contingency response plan.

88th Security Forces members were called upon to contend with a gate runner trying to gain entry to the installation.

Some organizations exercised their member's ability to employ the use of an automated external defibrillator device, or AED, during a life-threatening cardiac event such as a heart attack.

An 88th Communications Group exercise, which focused on loss of Wright-Patt's primary land mobile radio system, also challenged emergency responders communications abilities. The response Airmen who regularly depend on the system had to convey important message traffic despite the limitations caused by the outage.

Perhaps the most robust event of the week happened November 5 during an active-shooter scenario when a shooter began "firing" a weapon in a 445th Airlift Wing building around lunchtime. Security Forces members rushed to eliminate the threat and emergency responders headed to the location to assist with any possible victims.

News of the [simulated] shooting quickly spread across the base. Building after building went into full lock-down mode as personnel took the necessary steps to prevent the shooter, or any possible additional attackers, from harming others. A lockdown is a security measure designed to restrict movement.

Myra Fincher, 88 ABW IGI Director, stated that "our goal is for exercise scenarios to be as realistic as possible."

Even after the shooter was neutralized, Security Forces personnel still conducted a room-by-room search of the 445th AW building to determine that there were no other shooters present.

A number of individuals had volunteered to be victims in this exercise scenario. Emergency responders tended to their life-like injuries and prepared them for transport to medical facilities on base or in the nearby community, if needed.

Finally, as the exercise wound down, the all-clear message was sent out to inform those sheltering that it was safe to leave their lockdown areas.

The next installation exercise is scheduled for Feb. 1 though 5.