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Explosive Emergency Training Blood, broken bones, and cries of pain greeted Alyeska and Valdez rescue forces as they entered a warehouse at the Alyeska pipeline terminal. Fortunately for all present, the “casualties” were role players testing rescuers’ skills. “Our goal for today is to make sure that the Valdez Fire Department, Valdez Police Department, Valdez Emergency Medical Services, and the Alyeska Fire Rescue Brigade (AFRB) can work together successfully as one unit,” said Valdez Fire Chief Donnie Blackburn.
The participating teams were graded on their response times, injury evaluations, communications, and casualty evacuations. The units practised their routines to avoid future mistakes, according to John Fuller, Medical Operations Manager of the Alaska pipeline system. “Mistakes in the real world could have disastrous consequences for us. It's important for us to practice and iron out all the kinks now under controlled scenarios.” The exercise began when the participating units were alerted by radio that an explosive device had detonated at a warehouse at the pipeline terminal, causing numerous “casualties.” In response to the alert, rescuers from the fire department and AFRB entered the warehouse first, to ensure that the building was safe for emergency medical technicians. The police department established security around the warehouse and scouted for further risks. After confirming the building was safe for entry, Emergency Medical Technicians and participating U.S. Army soldiers assessed the “victims” and evacuated those identified as critical to Valdez Community Hospital for further care. Exercise problems provided valuable lessons for the teams, said Justin Major, of the AFRB. “We had a traffic jam, because we didn’t pre-plan our positions, and we ran tight on space for shipping the injured out.” Although there were some mistakes, the units did well overall, said Chief Blackburn. “The teamwork between the units was outstanding. If we continue to practice and incorporate those lessons into future operations, then we can only get better.”
Personnel Recovery To “victims” waiting in the cold Alaskan wilderness, UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters were a welcome sight. Personnel recovery crews from the Alaska Army National Guard swooped out of the sky as part of a cold weather rescue training scenario at Eielson Air Force Base. Personnel recovery, a natural outgrowth of combat search and rescue, is a vital component to warfighting, said Lt. Col. Kidrick. “First of all, personnel recovery is a huge morale builder – just to know there are assets standing by to rescue isolated personnel. Secondly we’re denying the enemy a potential intelligence asset by recovering someone who would be knowledgeable to the situation. Third, we return a good soldier to fight again.” Personnel recovery, formerly only the Air Force’s responsibility, is now incorporated into the Army’s combat capabilities. “[The Army’s] role is similar to the Air Force parajumpers,” said Lt. Col. Kidrick. “What the Black Hawk rescuers do is recover isolated personnel in a matter of 90 seconds after touching ground, provide surveillance, and perform special insertion and extraction methods of getting people in and out of helicopters.” With helicopters and support crews in place and ready to go, the participants could focus on their personnel recovery mission despite such factors as Alaska’s severe winters, said Army National Guard Capt. Darrin Dorn. “Not only are we trying to meet the objective, but we’re battling weather conditions and technical matters.” “This joint training is important because it is the exact environment we will be placed in around the world. The U.S. military must be interoperable across the services, sharing tactics and procedures to carry out the mission,” observed Lt. Col. Kidrick. “Something as simple as secure communications can be difficult if not practiced in peacetime, like we do here at NORTHERN EDGE.” Not only does NORTHERN EDGE provide the opportunity to train in a joint environment, but it also serves as a real-world challenge in the extreme winter environment, according to Lt. Col Kidrick. “It’s fairly difficult and challenging to navigate and locate survivors. It’s not easy terrain to read. The range complex provides enough space to train with low density traffic and state-of-the-art electronic warfare equipment.”
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