Simulated 'catastrophe' spotlights strength of mobility forces, national partnership

The scene at Missouri's Springfield-Branson National Airport last week seemed critical. Mobility airmen, working alongside members of their sister services, joined civilian emergency responders to prepare dozens of simulated casualties for aeromedical evacuation. Afterward they carried the patients on litters to the flight line, loading them on to two C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing.

The participants acted with urgency to the events, which were part of a larger National Level Exercise 2011.  NLE 2011 tested the cooperation of several government agencies under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Administration. The agencies participating included the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, Veterans Administration and local emergency response organizations.

The exercise simulated a catastrophic earthquake over a multiple-state region in the Midwest. The scenario was apt considering the very real possibility that the New Madrid Seismic Fault could cause a major earthquake in the region sometime in the future. The New Madrid Fault caused four of the worst earthquakes in U.S. history in 1811. Back then, the primary inhabitants of the area were mainly wildlife and farms, so the damage was minimal. That would not be the case should a quake hit the area again. Major population centers including Memphis and St. Louis would likely suffer tremendous damage—and cause the type of humanitarian disaster which tested participants during the exercise.

As FEMA Region 7 Administrator Beth Freeman explained during a May 19 press conference, requests for military assistance first go to U.S. Northern Command, which then requests support from U.S. Transportation Command. As USTRANSCOM’s air component, Air Mobility Command, through the 18th Air Force, takes action to plan and execute required air mobility missions.  These missions can range from moving cargo or personnel, providing contingency response forces, or aeromedical evacuation. 

“It takes a whole community to recover from a catastrophic event,” said Freeman, describing the civilian-military partnership required to effectively respond to a large-scale disaster.

In the case of the exercise, which ran from May 16 through May 19, the 123rd Airlift Wing’s aeromedical evacuation was complemented by simulated air mobility operations that included transporting search-and-rescue teams, providing contingency response forces to re-open damaged airfields, and moving patients to care from points throughout the affected region. 

“The exercise enabled DOD aeromedical evacuation and Disaster Aeromedical Staging Facility personnel the opportunity to increase communication and interoperability with our Department of Health and Human service and local civilian responder counterparts--which will pay huge dividends in future events if we are asked to provide this service during an actual disaster response,” said Army Maj. Scott Frazier, current operations officer for USTRANSCOM’s Surgeon General office as well as the deputy site director for the aerial port of embarkation at Springfield.

"What you have here are elements of U.S. Transportation Command responding to a local emergency,” noted Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek, USTRANSCOM deputy commander, addressing reporters at the Missouri exercise. He equated the scenario to the real-world movement of critical patients out of Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and the military’s response to March’s Japanese tsunami and earthquake. In the latter case, mobility forces transported search-and-rescue teams, badly needed generators, and helped ensure the safe evacuation of thousands of American citizens.

Under the simulation, hospitals in the Springfield area had reached capacity, and patients needed to be moved to other locations. Local responders in ambulances brought in patients, simulated by appropriately moulaged mannequins. Military medical personnel then helped stabilize the patients before litter teams carried them onto the C-130s.  Behind the scenes, officials at AMC, USTRANSCOM, and 18th Air Force worked around the clock conducting the immense planning and logistical efforts necessary to ensure the success of the exercise.

“This exercise really showcased the power of our mobility enterprise and the total force team that ensures its continued success,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Allardice, 18th Air Force Commander.  “While the future is uncertain, we do know that in times of crisis our nation will continue to call on mobility airmen … and exercises like this will ensure they’re ready to answer that call and save lives.”
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