Responding to the call: Ellsworth participates in joint service training

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jarad A. Denton
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Ellsworth Airmen participated in joint service, multiagency training in Rapid City, S.D., Nov. 4.

The training focused on responding to a simulated chemical, biological, nuclear or explosive incident involving a community transit bus.

Airmen from the 28th Bomb Wing worked closely with the South Dakota National Guard's 82nd Civil Support Team, as well as the Rapid City Fire Department and various civilian agencies, to assess and properly handle the incident. The top priority for everyone was the safety of all the simulated casualties on the bus.

Air Force Maj. Dale Gadbois, 82nd CST operations officer said the ability for all the agencies to come together and work as a team was invaluable.

"You want to meet each other and train together before a real incident occurs," he said. "It's good to know the capabilities of other agencies, so we can improve our overall response time. The quicker we can act, the more lives we save."

In order to properly assess the situation, Airmen from the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron and 28th Medical Operations Squadron donned protective gear and began checking the area for contamination. Throughout the exercise, the importance of cross training was constantly stressed.

"We're learning how to work with organizations from Rapid City, as well as the 82nd CST," said Airman Francheska Rebardi, 28th CES emergency management apprentice. "By integrating with everyone involved it helps us to be more effective."

One of the agencies with whom Ellsworth was able to train was the South Dakota Department of Health. Pat VanHunnik, Region 1 coordinator of preparedness and response, said this type of training is extremely important when evaluating the responses by various organizations. Through constant training, a professional rapport is developed that leads to a fluid and accurate response to emergency situations.

"We try to prepare ahead of time for these types of scenarios, and learn as much as we can during the training," Mr. VanHunnik said. "How we respond in training is just as important as how we respond during an actual incident."