Southwest Asia -- Members of the Expeditionary Medical Group and Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron participated in a training scenario designed to test the Air Expeditionary Wing’s Disease Containment Plan against an Ebola scenario at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Jan. 15.
“Installations are required to exercise the local DCP annually and the ‘ripped from the headlines’ scenario used this time was Ebola,” said Maj. Don, Aeromedical Dental Flight commander. “Even though the likelihood of such an event occurring here is very low, it’s still a contingency we want to be prepared for as a wing.”
Staff Sgt. Hannah, a medical technician currently deployed from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., said that the exercise tested the screening process they have for possible Ebola patients.
“We identified and evaluated risks and monitored symptoms of a mock Ebola patient,” she said. “We coordinated with other units to identify and secure a location for possible quarantine and isolation of patients prior to an aeromedical evacuation.”
The training allowed the Airmen to get hands-on training as well as valuable learning experience during every step of the identification and evaluation process. The Airmen were evaluated on being able to identify symptoms, locating a secure area for the quarantine and isolation of the patients as well as coordinating aeromedical evacuation for the patients.
“Training is our opportunity to figure out what works before we need it for a real-world situation,” said Maj. JoLyn, Wing Inspection Team chief. “Even though exercises will always have some element of “exercisism” to them, we can always learn from testing plans and testing our ability to respond.”
Whether at home station or in a deployed environment, training is essential for all personnel to maintain proficiency and prepare to handle situations seen and unseen.
“Training helps us recognize areas where we may have limited knowledge, or areas that our plan or checklist may not cover explicitly,” added JoLyn. “Thus exercises can become an opportunity to practice common sense, or identify areas that need to be worked through in more detail in regard to planning.”
At the end of the day, the exercise proved to be successful for those who played a role as a first responder.
“I’m really pleased with the exercise as a whole,” said JoLyn. “The medics exhibited great knowledge of how to handle this type of situation, and I think it was a great opportunity to get different units from around base together to think through things in a different manner. Communication between groups seemed to go well overall, and I think all agencies involved came together as a team.”
(Editor’s note: Due to safety and security reasons, last names and unit designators were removed.)