AFDW's disaster response capability tested

Published April 7, 2010
By Benjamin Newell
AFDW/PA

GALLAGHER, W. VA. -- Once a year, the Air Force District of Washington pulls out all the stops to exercise its firefighters, bio-environmental engineers and emergency managers at the Center for National Response in Gallagher, W.Va. during an event called Black Flag.

Black Flag was held March 22 to April 2 at the CNR. It simulates dangerous Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear hazards and tests AFDW's CBRN response capabilities in realistic environments. The simulations put every aspect of AFDW's CBRN Response Force teams through their paces.

Weekly training ensures that CRF personnel, located at Andrews AFB, Md., and Bolling AFB, Washington D.C., are prepared to meet any CBRN threat and support mission continuation on their installations. Black Flag gives CRF teams a chance to test their equipment, procedures and minds in a real-world environment.

"We began planning in January for a comprehensive CRF exercise that will reinforce cohesion between several career fields," said Sam Hunt, AFDW/A7X. "We have firefighter's responding to an incident alongside bio-environmental engineers and emergency management technicians." These three functional areas form the CBRN component of the CRF teams.

Two waves of CBRN responders are sent to the CNR for one week of training each. AFDW CBRN specialists tackle scenarios ranging from identifying unknown powder stashed deep in a cave to working in a disaster area while locating deadly chemical or biological agents and radioactive sources.

"It's our job to provide on-scene commanders with all the information they need to mitigate a threat," said 2nd Lt. Christian Apsey, a 779th Medical Wing bio-environmental engineer. "We help determine the nature of a threat, once it's spilled or released and then make recommendations to commanders on how to protect their people."

In one of the seven scenarios presented for the week, , Lieutenant Apsey was part of the typical three-man entry team dispatched to a CBRN site. The other two, a firefighter and an emergency management technician, provided physical support, safety and risk assessment expertise.

Once on site, the team works together to go through a set of field-specific procedures, called "techniques, tactics and procedures." These TTPs provide the exercise cadre, which included HQ AFDW personnel from A3/5 and A4/7, with a way to assess each team's performance.

"In each of the scenarios, cadre members follow the responders, assessing their technical and procedural performance and moving the exercise along," said Allison VanLare, AFDW/A7X. "Afterwards, the responders assess the TTPs and make changes where needed."

Every one of the over 60 AFDW personnel attending Black Flag must be logistically supported prior to, and during the event. Chemical resistant splash suits, breathing apparatus, CBRN detectors and supplies are transported to the CNR on a 27-foot trailer that doubles as a workplace, or temporary command post when emptied. Master Sgt. Michelle Getman, AFDW/A5Q, and Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Yang, AFDW/A7X, of AFDW Plans and Requirements, and Installation and Mission Support, respectively, worked with the CNR staff ahead of time to ensure the facilities, training venues and scenarios would accommodate CRF objectives.

AFDW's advanced planning allowed for three career fields, representing three Wings, to coalesce over the two, five-day training periods. Frequent operations and other day-to-day responsibilities prevent these three career fields from being able to exercise complex cross-functional operations often. In the past, lack of cross-functional cohesion caused initial confusion on scene among some responders. Black Flag helps AFDW CBRN responders mitigate that risk by bringing them together, and allowing them to focus on response in an environment free from the distraction of their everyday job.

"These teams really began working well that third and fourth day," said Mr. Hunt. "Watching them click, and really start to swiftly move through their TTPs was rewarding to watch. They are true professionals."

CRF personnel rotate in and out of various team roles throughout the week in order to maintain a broad range of skills required to make the concept a success. Team directors, logistics specialists, initial entry personnel and researchers are all critical to the success of a CRF team. All perspectives are required to continually validate TTPs. "These TTP's are nothing new for us. We work with them daily in our career fields, but applying them in a scenario like this is always interesting," said Capt. Marc Sylvander, a bio-environmental engineer with the 579th Medical Operations Squadron at Bolling AFB.

Following Black Flag, CRF personnel from the three Wings return to their normal duties more confident in their ability to work together to save lives, minimize damage, and restore operational capability during and after a CBRN hazard event.