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U.S., Kyrgyz firefighters strengthen skills

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Krystie Martinez
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  Screaming tools slice into the smashed vehicle as American and Kyrgyz firefighters strain to extricate a simulated victim from its interior during a combined exercise here, June 24-27.

The teamwork between them shows with each move; the exchange has been a success.

Four Kyrgyz Republic, Manas International Airport and two 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron crews participated in a vehicle extrication exercise, which simulated a vehicle crash with trapped victims. In order to rescue the victims, both crews used tools similar to the Jaws of Life™.

"Today we're training with the Kyrgyzstan firefighters and building a better relationship with them," said Staff Sgt. Ethan Kalepp, 376 ECES fire department vehicle crew chief, deployed from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. "We are learning different ways to do things, and trying to make it quicker and safer."

An emergency can happen anywhere at any time and it's important for the two departments to be able to work together at a moment's notice.

"The significance of this training is to improve our skills and make sure we're both on the same page and can get the job done safely and efficiently," said Senior Airman Jose Garcia, 376 ECES firefighter, deployed from Hurlburt Field, Fla. "It's all about building friendship and mutual agreements, basically working together building our morale and working together as a team. Getting the job done."

Both departments understand the significance of training together and are ready to learn from each other.

"Experience and exchange, those are the most important things," said Alexei Reinvald, Kyrgyz fire department rescue operator. "We raised our qualification and our knowledge because just seeing with our own eyes how you guys do it and to show how we do it is always good."

At the end of the four-day exercise, firefighters felt confident that, when faced with a vehicle extrication emergency, they could execute their mission correctly.

"Thanks to these kinds of exercises, we can say that we are sure that in case of emergencies we can do our job properly," Reinvald said.