SHINDAND AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Advisers at the 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group and Shindand Air Base tenant units honed their emergency response capabilities during an aircraft mishap response exercise at the base Feb. 12, 2012.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. J.D. Felty, the 838th AEAG fire chief and group senior enlisted adviser, said the exercise was a great test of the emergency responders' teamwork.
"This exercise was the first full scale test of an aircraft mishap response for this year," said Felty. "The overall exercise went well and there were several lessons learned to make the process smoother and more efficient."
Emergency responders included firefighters, security forces, Army medics and numerous other support personnel.
The scenario started with a simulated crash of a MD-530 helicopter with three personnel on board. The firefighters established incident command, scene safety, aircraft shutdown, aircrew extraction and assisted with triage efforts.
Security forces personnel established a cordon and ensured all additional response personnel were routed to the incident commander for accountability and tasked them with their responsibilities.
Army medics established a triage area for the victims, assessed each patient and then provided rapid treatment and packaging of the simulated victims for transport to the next stage of care at the "Role II" hospital, where other medics continued the treatment of the simulated victims.
A bonus benefit from the exercise was that Afghan emergency response personnel were able to observe the process at full speed, said Felty.
"This provided them a visual on a full scale emergency response that progressed in real-time without stopping and starting for instruction and explanation," said Felty. "The biggest take-away for them was the importance of working as a team and that all emergency responders have to work together in order to be successful."
Afghan air force Lt. Col. Naseem, the Shindand Air Wing chief of safety, said he appreciated the opportunity to watch the exercise.
"This was a very good exercise," he said. "I thank the advisors for including us. I was able to learn a lot from watching them and how they practiced."
The chief said there were a couple of metaphorical curveballs thrown at the emergency responders to test their abilities to think on the fly.
"We had the simulated crash in an area of the base that was still under construction and without a direct driving route," he said. "This was done intentionally to provide additional obstacles and provide insight as to what it would be like to respond outside-the-wire for a downed aircraft."
Felty said the emergency responders worked efficiently together. He said the mishap exercise was a great way to foster good teamwork among the groups.
"It was an opportunity for them to fully understand how they fit into the bigger picture of responding and protecting and saving the lives of the aircrew and other personnel."