By Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs / Published August 23, 2019
Firefighters from the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron spray a MV-22 Osprey with water during an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. The exercise was an opportunity for service members from multiple branches to cooperate on one of the most intense scenarios a firefighter could be called for: an aircraft on fire on the flightline. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mozer O. Da Cunha)
Gear from the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's fire station rests in a truck at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. To recreate training as close to real-world scenarios as possible, all firefighters use vehicles and equip themselves just as they would in a non-training environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
Tech. Sgt. Aaron Alcaraz, 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron fire station captain, communicates with firefighters during an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. Several emergency service vehicles arrived on-scene and simulated putting out the fire in the MV-22 Osprey then providing immediate medical care to the victims. Firefighters and medical personnel included Airmen, Marines and Sailors. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
Firefighters from the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron prepare their firetruck to stay mission-ready at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. The exercise was an opportunity for service members from multiple branches to cooperate on one of the most intense scenarios a firefighter could be called for: an aircraft on fire on the flightline. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
U.S. military service members participate in an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. The exercise was an opportunity for service members from multiple branches to cooperate on one of the most intense scenarios a firefighter could be called for: an aircraft on fire on the flightline. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mozer O. Da Cunha)
A firefighter with the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron removes a simulated casualty from an MV-22 Osprey during an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. The exercise was an opportunity for service members from multiple branches to cooperate on one of the most intense scenarios a firefighter could be called for: an aircraft on fire on the flightline. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mozer O. Da Cunha)
Firefighters from the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron prepare to enter an MV-22 Osprey during an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. The exercise was an opportunity for service members from multiple branches to cooperate on one of the most intense scenarios a firefighter could be called for: an aircraft on fire on the flightline. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mozer O. Da Cunha)
Exercise participants hydrate while being treated during an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. Several emergency service vehicles arrived on-scene and simulated putting out the fire in the MV-22 Osprey then providing immediate medical care to the victims. Firefighters and medical personnel included Airmen, Marines and Sailors. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
U.S. military service members participate in an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. The exercise was an opportunity for service members from multiple branches to cooperate on one of the most intense scenarios a firefighter could be called for: an aircraft on fire on the flightline. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
U.S. military service members participate in an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. Several emergency service vehicles arrived on-scene and simulated putting out the fire in the MV-22 Osprey then providing immediate medical care to the victims. Firefighters and medical personnel included Airmen, Marines and Sailors. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps firefighters participate in an after-action report meeting following an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. After training, the firefighters will conduct a meeting to discuss how the exercise went and ways to improve their response. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
Firefighters from the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron finish their post-training meeting and head to lunch at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. An Air Force firefighter is prepared to operate in unusual environments compared to those on the outside, and thanks to successful training exercises, those environments stay preserved and safe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer)
Firefighters from the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron participated in an airfield exercise at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, Aug. 16, 2019. The exercise was an opportunity for service members from multiple branches to cooperate on one of the most intense scenarios a firefighter could be called for: an aircraft on fire on the flightline. “We had a simulated MV-22 engine fire,” said U.S. Marine Sgt. Casey Madigan, Marine Wing Support Detachment 473rd Expeditionary fire and rescue. “We arrived on scene, the crash truck put out the fire in the engine. Our rescue crew brought out five casualties and we provided them [simulated] medical care.”
Several emergency service vehicles arrived on-scene and simulated putting out the fire in the MV-22 Osprey then providing immediate medical care to the victims. Firefighters and medical personnel included Airmen, Marines and Sailors. “Working with all branches in the military gets us familiar with protocol procedures that everybody does with our actions and how we handle things on-scene,” Madigan said. “It really helps with real-world scenarios.” In order to accurately recreate this realism, it required equipment, aircraft and vehicular support that the fire station was able to provide. “We use all our crash vehicles like a video game,” said Tech Sgt. Aaron Alcaraz, 407th ECES fire station captain, deployed from the Illinois Air National Guard’s 182nd Airlift Wing at Peoria, Ill. “They have joysticks we use to physically fight the fire before transitioning to exterior operations with traditional handlines and fire hoses.” All-in-all, the exercise concluded with a lot of positives for all members to take and learn from. “People come from all different parts of the country,” Alcaraz said. “We have to take all of them and bring them into one cohesive fire department, and the only way to do that is to train like we did today.” An Air Force firefighter is prepared to operate in unusual environments compared to those on the outside, and thanks to successful training exercises, those environments stay preserved and safe. “Every firefighter joins to be hands-on,” Alcaraz said. “We’re all hands-on in everything we do. None of us like sitting behind a desk staring at a PowerPoint presentation all day. As long as we’re capable of doing exercises, that’s what we do. We try to come up with as many scenarios as we can to accomplish this.”