BRE made more realistic through off-base agency interaction

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Lisa Spilinek
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  A simulated biological agent attack at Hanscom was the scenario for the Base Readiness Exercise held Nov. 28.

The simulated attack took place in building 1614.

The main goal of the exercise was for base leaders to realize that the base had been under attack following a simulated death of a military member assigned to building 1614 along with numerous role players in the building complaining of feeling ill or calling in sick to work, said Joe Lawlor, 66th Air Base Wing Plans and Programs office.

"The intent of the exercise team was to make this BRE as realistic as possible by working with members of the 66th Medical Group, as well as officials from Emerson Hospital and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to ensure the simulated symptoms were accurate for exposure to the biological agent," Mr. Lawlor said.

Upon learning of the simulated death and large number of role-playing sick individuals assigned to building 1614, Col. Tom Schluckebier, 66th Air Base Wing commander, recalled the base's Emergency Operations Center.

Hanscom officially switched to operating an EOC for emergency situations Nov. 21.

The EOC was formed under the Air Force Incident Management System, which is to be implemented Air Force-wide this December. AFIMS brings Air Force operations in line with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5, which calls for the establishment of a single, comprehensive national system for managing domestic incidents.

Not only was the Nov. 28 BRE the first for the base since its conversion to AFIMS, it also included involvement from multiple outside agencies.

"We had involvement from the FBI, Emerson Hospital, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Massachusetts Army National Guard 1st Civil Support Team and the Massachusetts Medical Examiner's Office," Mr. Lawlor said. "It's really important that we practice as if the situation was real. To fully do so, requires our interaction with many off-base agencies."

"Under AFIMS -- all emergency response agencies speak the same language by using the same terms and conduct operations in a similar manner. This exercise really gave Hanscom the opportunity to practice interacting with our civilian counterparts," said Lt. Col. Erik Hayden, 66th Air Base Wing Plans and Programs office.

An additional bonus of having so many off base agencies participate in the BRE was the amount of knowledge sharing that went on in the EOC where numerous subject matter experts briefed Hanscom leaders and emergency responders on their processes during a biological attack.

Perhaps the most important part of the exercise was the relationship building that went on between base personnel and those working in the off-base agencies.

"You don't want to meet your counterpart in another office for the first time during a real-world emergency situation, should one arise. It's better to have those contact networks in place," said Capt. Kerry Ciolek, 66th Medical Operations Group Exercise Evaluation Team member. Captain Ciolek worked extensively with representatives from the Department of Public Health and Emerson Hospital.

Emerson Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Christine Schuster, who is also the honorary commander of the 66th Air Base Wing, said, "This exercise enhanced Emerson's capability to respond to a bioterrorism incident, and we appreciated the invitation from Hanscom Air Force Base to participate in such an important drill."

Since this exercise marked the first time many new exercise functions and capabilities were reviewed, the exercise was not given a rating by the Exercise Evaluation Team, Mr. Lawlor said.

One area that was identified, however, as needing improvement was that of communication. While the implementation of AFIMS standardizes the way emergency response personnel function and interact, better communication is a constant goal as the nature of emergency incidents can hinder the information flow between responders at the scene and those in the EOC, Mr. Lawlor said.

"The biggest take-away from this exercise is the importance and impact of communication through all channels -- between the EOC and responders at the scene and between the base and non-Hanscom agencies. This exercise was very helpful in allowing us to employ those channels and showing us where we need to do better, so that if a real-world situation arose, we would be ready," Colonel Schluckebier said.

Hanscom's next BRE is scheduled Feb. 13 to 14.