Photo By Senior Airman Tallon Bratton | U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 51st Medical Group pose for a photo after...... read more read more
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OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea — Airmen assigned to the 51st Medical group conducted a medical decontamination exercise at Osan Air Base, Sept. 11, 2025, to enhance readiness and sustain the “Fight Tonight” posture against potential chemical or biological threats on the Korean Peninsula.
The training focused on ensuring Airmen can respond quickly to contamination following an attack.
“With a chemical attack, the amount of exposure would quickly diminish our capabilities,”said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Christina Zuccarelli, 51st MDG chief nurse. “We have to get them treated medically with the auto injectors, and we have to get them cleaned and scrubbed so they don’t perish.”
While the base’s primary decontamination capability is located at the 51st Medical Group building, the exercise highlighted the flexibility of Osan’s mobile decontamination unit. The mobile setup can be deployed across the installation.
“It’s extremely helpful,” Zuccarelli said. “This capability allows us to bring the equipment anywhere that has water and electricity, which makes it a much more high-fidelity training scenario. Our teams can now spread that knowledge throughout the rest of our disaster response teams.”
Lt. Col. Joseph Ryan, 51st Flight Commander of Dental Flight, chief of dental services, emphasized the exercise’s role in keeping Airmen mission-ready and preserving mission continuity.
“It really boils down to return to duty,” Ryan said. “Even if folks aren’t wounded during an initial attack, if they’re contaminated, this allows us to decontaminate them and get them back to doing their duties. It preserves our ability as a medical group to provide care without contaminating our facilities.”
Zuccarelli said outside subject matter experts helped raise the realism of the training, and she praised the Airmen who took part.
“They moved quickly. They had a sense of urgency. They played like it was real,” Zuccarelli said. “The teamwork was amazing to see in such a short amount of time. They beat the expectation of the standard. We’re thrilled.”
The exercise supported a broader effort to strengthen base-wide emergency response capabilities during large-scale exercises.
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2025 02:54 |
| Story ID: | 547945 |
| Location: | OSAN AIR BASE, GYEONGGIDO [KYONGGI-DO], KR |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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