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NEWS | Aug. 12, 2016

First Responders put to the test

By Senior Airman Joshua R. M. Dewberry 11th Wing Public Affairs

Victims lay everywhere as first responders rush to the scene. Sirens wail in the distance as tensions mount. While it’s only a training scenario, a Major Accident Response Exercise is treated like a real emergency.

Team Andrews executed a MARE scenario here, Aug. 11, as an annual training requirement that evaluates the base’s readiness. A wide range of simulated emergency events test the response and readiness capabilities of different first responder units.

"The exercise consisted of a simulated F-16 crash landing near the edge of the base flight line, injuring more than a dozen people and claiming the lives of several victims," said Lt. Col. Benjamin Milarch, 11th Wing Inspector General. "We do at least two of these exercises a year to test our response efforts and communication between units. It’s necessary, especially when we look to host our air show next year."

Emergency accidents and incidents such as these are managed by Air Force Instruction, which provides standardized steps for any situation, large or small.

“Even after the victims have been treated and moved from the accident site, we still have to focus on clean-up and damage control,” said Tech Sgt. Josh Wullenweber, 89th Maintenance Group WG Inspection Team lead inspector. “In a real crash landing, there would still be parts from the aircraft to clean up and move to new location to investigate the cause of the accident.”

More than 200 people were involved in the exercise. Approximately 20 Airmen volunteered to act as victims. First responders from 11th WG, 79th Medical WG, 89th Airlift WG, and 113th WG were tested on their preparedness to such an accident.

“With this many players, it can get confusing with who’s doing what, but that’s partly why we run these scenarios; so you can try to control the chaos as much as possible,” Milarch said.

The MARE also gave team leaders, from the units involved, insight into how the base would conduct daily operations while responding to real-world emergencies. The events were designed to test the base tactics, techniques and procedures as well as base communications capabilities.

“We certainly hope nothing like an aircraft crash happens, but we must be ready at all times to respond whether it’s one victim or 100,” said Milarch.