49 CES plays their own game

  • Published
  • By Airman Sondra M. Escutia
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (ACCNS) --  The 49th Civil Engineer Squadron put their own twist on exercise Coronet Gold Rush 08-08, after recently being tasked to the U.S. Northern Command's first dedicated response force.

Comprised of Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, the force's main responsibility is to respond to potential chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive (CBRNE) incidents anywhere in the U.S. in the case of a major disaster. It is called the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF.

While the rest of Team Holloman simulated a deployment to Balad Air Base, the 49th CES simulated a deployment to Colorado Springs, Co.

The scenario was that 30,000 people were killed in Colorado Springs, Co., in a high-yield explosive without warning and the government has ordered the CCMRF to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the incident.

"Some of the things that we would actually do in this situation is supply heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) personnel for morgues or other buildings, working on route recovery and bedding down tents for disaster relief," said Senior Master Sgt. Ed Lukitsch. "It's really great training that we're getting right now in an event that something really did happen."

On top of practicing tactics for their given scenario, the squadron members also managed to stay in the same Mission Oriented Protection Posture (MOPP) level as the rest of the base, which involved donning full chemical gear and gas masks at a few points in the exercise.

The primary difference in operations for the squadron was that the command and control center was run as a Tactical Operations Center (TOC) instead of the usual Damage Control Center (DCC). The TOC is set up the same way the Army would in a real-world deployment of the CCMRF.

"This exercise is more or less getting everybody up to speed on how the TOC should run," said Airman 1st Class Kristina Lawrence. "It's learning how to work with one another as well."

Many of the 49th CE Airmen played in an even bigger exercise in training for their newest tasking: a CCMRF exercise at Ft. Stewart, Ga., in September.

"Another aspect of this exercise in particular is trying to teach everyone who didn't get to the training in Georgia," Airmen Lawrence added.

For more information on the CCMRF, check out Holloman's website at Holloman.af.mil.