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FORT EUSTIS, Va. - The 733rd Mission Support Division emergency management team conducted a full-scale helicopter crash exercise at Felker Army Airfield at Fort Eustis, Virginia, March 12, 2015.
The exercise simulated a helicopter crash and tested response operations and unit cohesion of more than 20 agencies from across Joint Base Langley-Eustis, said Bob Sampe, 733rd MSD emergency manager.
“After more than four months of planning,” said Sampe. “The main goals of the exercise were to make sure proper procedures are followed and updates are made if necessary to improve response capabilities, to have the knowledge on how to react if a real scenario happened.”
The simulated crash scenario involved a UH-60 Blackhawk, which carried 2 high-priority passengers and three flight crew members, with only three of the five members surviving the crash.
The exercise tested initial responders’ such as the 733rd Civil Engineer Division Fire Department fire fighters and the McDonald Army Health Center Installation Support Team, capabilities and procedures. The teams worked together to control the fire while attempting to rescue passengers on board.
“Once on scene, the fire fighters played their roll well by controlling the fire and searching for the injured, which is their first and most important mission,” said Dale Hankins, 733rd CED Fire Department deputy fire chief. “These exercises are a great way for unity between different agencies it is nice to see all the pieces and parts working together.”
The responders on the airfield were also responsible for transporting the injured aircraft crew members. The team transported two injured flight crew members to nearby hospitals, as the other seriously injured member was transported to a local civilian hospital utilizing Nightingale, a medical evacuation helicopter from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
“These sort of exercises take a lot of coordination,” said Sampe. “We took more than four months to plan and make sure we have [support from] all the right agencies in the right place at the right time, including agencies outside of JBLE.”
Just as the first responders arrived at the scene, another group of people gathered, those members who have been trained to take part in standing up the emergency operations center, to ensure a functional common operation picture capability. Those inside of the EOC acted as the hub of the information flow during the simulated incident, including communication with the command post at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
“We have these exercises to practice,” said Hankins. “If you do not practice, you won’t be perfect, and when it comes to what we do, we want to be perfect.”
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2015 10:20 |
| Story ID: | 157340 |
| Location: | FORT EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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