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188th emergency managers host National Guard Bureau CBRN course

  • Published
  • By Capt. Heath Allen
  • 188th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
FORT SMITH, Ark. --  Emergency managers hope for the best while preparing for the worst.

Units from across the nation got one step closer to that goal during the 2011 National Guard Bureau deployed field training hazardous material technician and CBRN special tactics and response course hosted by the 188th Fighter Wing's Emergency Management Flight at the unit's Fire Training Site Aug. 14-27.

"Our flight has an extensive training background with Department of Justice and FBI courses," said Senior Master Sgt. Ron Redding, 188th base emergency manager. "We also have a lot of experience with clandestine lab scenarios and working with the 61st Civil Support Team at Camp [Joseph T.] Robinson [Ark.]. When you look at our experience and our facilities we had what our functional area at the National Guard Bureau was looking for."

The objective of the training was to integrate disaster response with the incident command structure to rehearse scenarios as they would occur in the real world. The training concluded with a final day of scenarios in which participants responded to threats, identified unknown substances and mitigated potential disasters.

"The facilities here are top notch and the training really gave us an opportunity to prepare for the worst," said Capt. Hinson, chief of readiness and emergency management at the 19th Civil Engineer Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. "It's a great chance for minds to meld and ideas to get exchanged. Everyone has great ideas; it's just a matter of putting people in a position so that others can hear them."

Multiple Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and active duty units were afforded the chance to swap experiences and learn from each other, including the 106th Rescue Wing, New York ANG; 123rd Air Control Squadron, Ohio ANG; 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio ANG; 189th Airlift Wing, Arkansas ANG; 215th Engineering Installation Squadron, Washington ANG; 242nd Air Traffic Control Flight, Washington ANG; 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina ANG; 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron, Florida ANG; 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin ANG; 128th Air Refueling Wing, Wisconsin ANG; 151st Air Refueling Wing, Utah ANG; and the 190th Air Refueling Wing, Kansas ANG.

Air Force Reserve units participated as well as the U.S. Air Force's active duty 19th CES, Little Rock AFB. A representative from the FBI also observed.

Capt. Hinson said the 188th's facilities are similar to those at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., the location where emergency managers from all U.S. military services learn the CBRN craft.

"Here you have just about every single resource available to us that you would at Fort Leonard Wood," Capt. Hinson said. "But here you have more in-depth analysis on how the incident command system works, how they apply it in different scenarios."

Capt. Hinson said the training provided an ideal opportunity for the ANG, Reserves and active duty to work together in number of different disaster scenarios.

"We don't get this chance often," he said. "There's a lot of active duty bases that don't have Guard input and vice versa. This benefits both of us."

One facet of the training took individuals who are proficient in one area of emergency management and plugged them into areas in which they are unfamiliar.

"We're taking people out of their comfort zone," he said. "Everyone gets taught how to be a hazmat technician but they never get a chance to practice incident command."

Capt. Hinson said this strategy helps strengthen the career field and broadens individual expertise.

"You're only as strong as your weakest link," he said. "The goal is to have as many personnel experienced in different situations and roles as possible. If someone is familiar and more comfortable at the scene then we take them and put them in charge of logistics or if they're not very comfortable digging into research materials to figure out what the threat is and determining a protective action then we put them in research."

Capt. Hinson said this training tactic also involves placing Airmen in stressful positions that require astute decision making and oversight of an entire scenario.

"This is a chance for the Airmen to learn early on what it's like to be an incident commander," he said. "There's a big difference between working the event and commanding the event and it's important for everyone to know that."

On the final day, emergency managers were faced with three separate scenarios. An entry team ventured to the scene to conduct an initial assessment and to detect any potentially hazardous unknown threats. A second team remained on-site for quick intervention or rescue should the assessment team encounter any danger or require additional personnel.

In one scenario, a C-130 Hercules made an emergency landing. The crew was incapacitated and the substance was unknown.

The fire department went in first to smolder the blaze and then the assessment team ventured in to determine the nature of the threat. A third team awaits the return of the assessment team for decontamination procedures.

The assessment team communicates their findings via radio to the incident command staff at a nearby control center. The incident commander then makes a decision on how to best handle the event and whether evacuations are needed.

Two additional scenarios involved mitigating threats while coping with low visibility in laboratory-like conditions.

"We deal in unknowns." Sergeant Redding said. "It could be anything from methamphetamines to anthrax or concentrated nicotine."

The goal of this training is to place emergency managers in stressful situations in which they must operate sophisticated equipment while wearing Level A chemical protection suits.

"It's extremely challenging," Sergeant Redding said. "It's pitch dark and you're looking through two pieces of eye protection, using flashlights and breathing timed air through air tanks, all while having to get from point A to point B, operate in that area and conduct your testing."

To increase the stress, incident command may issue orders that force emergency managers to quicken their pace with the same high expectation of job proficiency.

"It can become hectic and stressful," Sergeant Redding said. "This training challenges emergency managers and helps them in a number of ways that will prepare them to deal with those unknowns in the future."

188th emergency managers host National Guard Bureau CBRN course

  • Published
  • By Capt. Heath Allen
  • 188th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
FORT SMITH, Ark. --  Emergency managers hope for the best while preparing for the worst.

Units from across the nation got one step closer to that goal during the 2011 National Guard Bureau deployed field training hazardous material technician and CBRN special tactics and response course hosted by the 188th Fighter Wing's Emergency Management Flight at the unit's Fire Training Site Aug. 14-27.

"Our flight has an extensive training background with Department of Justice and FBI courses," said Senior Master Sgt. Ron Redding, 188th base emergency manager. "We also have a lot of experience with clandestine lab scenarios and working with the 61st Civil Support Team at Camp [Joseph T.] Robinson [Ark.]. When you look at our experience and our facilities we had what our functional area at the National Guard Bureau was looking for."

The objective of the training was to integrate disaster response with the incident command structure to rehearse scenarios as they would occur in the real world. The training concluded with a final day of scenarios in which participants responded to threats, identified unknown substances and mitigated potential disasters.

"The facilities here are top notch and the training really gave us an opportunity to prepare for the worst," said Capt. Hinson, chief of readiness and emergency management at the 19th Civil Engineer Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. "It's a great chance for minds to meld and ideas to get exchanged. Everyone has great ideas; it's just a matter of putting people in a position so that others can hear them."

Multiple Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and active duty units were afforded the chance to swap experiences and learn from each other, including the 106th Rescue Wing, New York ANG; 123rd Air Control Squadron, Ohio ANG; 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio ANG; 189th Airlift Wing, Arkansas ANG; 215th Engineering Installation Squadron, Washington ANG; 242nd Air Traffic Control Flight, Washington ANG; 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina ANG; 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron, Florida ANG; 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin ANG; 128th Air Refueling Wing, Wisconsin ANG; 151st Air Refueling Wing, Utah ANG; and the 190th Air Refueling Wing, Kansas ANG.

Air Force Reserve units participated as well as the U.S. Air Force's active duty 19th CES, Little Rock AFB. A representative from the FBI also observed.

Capt. Hinson said the 188th's facilities are similar to those at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., the location where emergency managers from all U.S. military services learn the CBRN craft.

"Here you have just about every single resource available to us that you would at Fort Leonard Wood," Capt. Hinson said. "But here you have more in-depth analysis on how the incident command system works, how they apply it in different scenarios."

Capt. Hinson said the training provided an ideal opportunity for the ANG, Reserves and active duty to work together in number of different disaster scenarios.

"We don't get this chance often," he said. "There's a lot of active duty bases that don't have Guard input and vice versa. This benefits both of us."

One facet of the training took individuals who are proficient in one area of emergency management and plugged them into areas in which they are unfamiliar.

"We're taking people out of their comfort zone," he said. "Everyone gets taught how to be a hazmat technician but they never get a chance to practice incident command."

Capt. Hinson said this strategy helps strengthen the career field and broadens individual expertise.

"You're only as strong as your weakest link," he said. "The goal is to have as many personnel experienced in different situations and roles as possible. If someone is familiar and more comfortable at the scene then we take them and put them in charge of logistics or if they're not very comfortable digging into research materials to figure out what the threat is and determining a protective action then we put them in research."

Capt. Hinson said this training tactic also involves placing Airmen in stressful positions that require astute decision making and oversight of an entire scenario.

"This is a chance for the Airmen to learn early on what it's like to be an incident commander," he said. "There's a big difference between working the event and commanding the event and it's important for everyone to know that."

On the final day, emergency managers were faced with three separate scenarios. An entry team ventured to the scene to conduct an initial assessment and to detect any potentially hazardous unknown threats. A second team remained on-site for quick intervention or rescue should the assessment team encounter any danger or require additional personnel.

In one scenario, a C-130 Hercules made an emergency landing. The crew was incapacitated and the substance was unknown.

The fire department went in first to smolder the blaze and then the assessment team ventured in to determine the nature of the threat. A third team awaits the return of the assessment team for decontamination procedures.

The assessment team communicates their findings via radio to the incident command staff at a nearby control center. The incident commander then makes a decision on how to best handle the event and whether evacuations are needed.

Two additional scenarios involved mitigating threats while coping with low visibility in laboratory-like conditions.

"We deal in unknowns." Sergeant Redding said. "It could be anything from methamphetamines to anthrax or concentrated nicotine."

The goal of this training is to place emergency managers in stressful situations in which they must operate sophisticated equipment while wearing Level A chemical protection suits.

"It's extremely challenging," Sergeant Redding said. "It's pitch dark and you're looking through two pieces of eye protection, using flashlights and breathing timed air through air tanks, all while having to get from point A to point B, operate in that area and conduct your testing."

To increase the stress, incident command may issue orders that force emergency managers to quicken their pace with the same high expectation of job proficiency.

"It can become hectic and stressful," Sergeant Redding said. "This training challenges emergency managers and helps them in a number of ways that will prepare them to deal with those unknowns in the future."