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380AEW Article

Major Accident Response Exercise tests readiness

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Michael Means
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Members of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing along with the host nation representatives and first responders were put to the test during a combined Major Accident Response Exercise here Dec. 19, 2013.

The scenario involved an E-3 Sentry carrying 23 passengers. Two engines sustained damage after hitting a flock of birds during take-off, which required the aircraft to declare an inflight emergency. Upon a hard landing, the aircraft departed the runway and broke apart into several large pieces.

"This type of MARE is to ensure members of the wing can appropriately respond to a major aircraft accident," said Air Force Master Sgt. Anthony Powell, 380 AEW exercise evaluation team chief/wing exercises, who calls West Point, Miss., home and is deployed here from Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

To make the scenario more realistic, the exercise coordinators involved the 380th Expeditionary Medical Group moulage team applied simulated injuries to four critically injured victims.

To make simulated injuries appear more realistic to the responders, moulage technicians used fake blood, makeup and liquid latex to create fake injuries, which included severe burns, broken bones, head injuries and chest wounds.

"The benefit of having moulage patients is so the medical personnel can get the training of triaging and treating life-like injuries," said Powell.

The role players we used were also an actual Airborne Warning and Control System aircrew to help make the exercise more real, he said.

Upon arrival to the accident scene, Air Force and host nation fire and emergency services personnel put out the simulated fire and removed the victims from the aircraft. The victims were then moved to a safe distance from the scene where medical personnel performed triage and prepared them for transportation for further medical care.

"The first responders' timing was great and all of the responders were very thorough and did an outstanding job," said Powell.

Longer timeframe tasks such as conducting a safety investigation and securing the crash site, while continuing to execute the wartime mission were also evaluated to help prepare the wing in the event of a real-life major accident response, said Air Force Maj. Timothy Spaulding, 380th AEW Plans and Programs chief, who calls Denver, Colo., home and is deployed here from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

"The exercise went very well and was well supported by the wing as well as by our host nation," said Spaulding

Each unit was represented behind the scenes, command and control members maintained control of the situation by standing up the emergency operations center, crisis action team and until control centers.

"From what I see, the base is prepared and capable of responding to a major aircraft accident," said Powell.