HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Hanscom AFB will conduct base exercise scenarios, including an active-shooter portion, June 23-24 to evaluate the installation’s readiness and emergency response capabilities.
Personnel should anticipate disruptions to daily activities, such as restrictions, lockdowns and evacuations. Organizers note events may affect customer service functions and also result in traffic delays both entering and exiting the installation.
Lt. Col. Nathan Markley, director of Wing Inspections here, said that, after the last year with many people teleworking due to COVID and the temporary halt to base exercises, it’s more important than ever to exercise these activities “to shake the rust off.”
“We want to ensure those who haven’t been on the installation for a while know the proper procedures to follow to ensure we’re ready for any sort of real-world emergency,” he said. “This also allows us to evaluate where we have strengths and where we might need improvement.”
Base officials are emphasizing safety to all involved, and if any real-world emergency takes place, they will stop the exercise immediately.
Markley said Wing Inspection Team members will monitor all scenarios and will be identifiable by blue vests.
“If a member of Team Hanscom sees something that he or she believes to be unsafe, they should report it to a WIT member immediately,” he said, adding that all WIT members have the ability to stop an event when safety is compromised.
If required as part of a scenario, personnel should dial 911 from a landline, or cellular device if available, and should preface the call with “EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE.” If a participant is using a cell phone for exercise purposes and the 911 call gets routed off-base, ask the operator to re-route the call to the Hanscom AFB 911 operator, and preface the call with “EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE.”
For questions or concerns prior to the exercise, base personnel should contact Hanscom’s Inspector General Office at 66.ABG.IG.Workflow@us.af.mil.