Photo By Roger Parsons | U.S. Air Force Maj. Christel Schweizer, a physician’s assistant with the 116th...... read more read more
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FORT MCCLELLAN, Ala.—Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Medical Group, Detachment 1, and eight additional joint-force units from the Region IV Homeland Response Force, completed four days of intensive disaster preparedness training at Fort McClellan and Pelham Range in Anniston, Alabama, 17-20 April.
The importance of the training is underscored by recent natural and manmade disasters like the earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador and terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Throughout the week, Airmen from the 116th Medical Group worked along side Soldiers and Marines, providing emergency medical services, casualty search and extraction, site management, logistics and operational support during realistic scenarios.
“Our role in the National Guard is to support civil authorities in disaster type of events,” said Lt. Col. Kris Krueger, commander of the 116th Medical Group Detachment 1. “We provide medical capability for any casualties, offering first-level medical care to save lives and get them on to the extended care they need.”
This pre-EXEVAL; named Exercise Operation Nuclear Tide Hazard, offered a number of firsts for the medical unit that calls Robins Air Force Base home.
The 116th Medical Group, recognized in past evaluations as one of the top performing medical elements in the nation, recently stood up Detachment 1 with Krueger as its first commander. During this first exercise as a new detachment, they met all their training objectives while mentoring Army National Guard medics proving once again why many of their procedures have been chosen as best practices for National Guard medical units across the nation.
“What makes our team so strong is we bring a lot of continuity to the mission,” said Krueger. “There are a lot of people who were here when we originally started this mission that are still on the team. They bring a lot of capability from their civilian jobs to our mission.”
According to Krueger, the standup of Detachment 1 allows for an increased focus on staying mission ready to respond to and handle any contingency.
“Now we have more manpower associated with our detachment, so we are able to focus on this mission just as much as we are able to focus on our deployment mission and the other responsibilities we have in the Air National Guard,” said Krueger.
In another first for the unit, Lt. Col. Jewel Churchman, chief nurse of the 116th Medical Group, was chosen as deputy commander of the Joint Task Force 781 CBRNE leading the exercise. This move is one of the first in the nation for an Air National Guard medical unit. Normally, operational leadership roles are confined to the Army Guard.
“The Air Force has right at one-third of the entire mission, so it only makes sense to have someone from a service who is vested in the mission at the top level of leadership during operational hours,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Tucker, commander of the Joint Task Force 781 CBRNE.
“The 116th Medical Group has always been the top of the top and it’s always rewarding to work with them on a regular basis,” shared Tucker.
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2016 21:27 |
| Story ID: | 195990 |
| Location: | FORT MCCLELLAN, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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