DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 355th Medical Group participated in exercise “Ready Eagle” Feb. 14-16 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
During the event, the 355th MDG teams trained with the Air Force Medical Service to improve response capabilities during a mass casualty event. The teams spent three days in various classes and exercises, culminating with a mass casualty exercise on the final day.
“Ready Eagle is a training exercise that’s designed to test our medics in a controlled environment when we have time on our side,” said 1st Lt. Matthew Centeno, 355th MDG medical readiness flight commander. “This ensures that in a real world event, we are prepared.”
For the first two days of the exercise, the MDG teams participated in open monologue classes to discuss and fully understand the necessary procedures that take place during a mass casualty event. On the last day, the mass casualty event simulated an aircraft crash and required teams from the MDG to respond at the site of the crash, receive the simulated casualties and effectively treat them.
“A lot of times we get the question of what we do on our training days, and these are sort of the events that we train,” said Col. Lea Ann Calderwood, 355th MDG commander. “Being an out-patient clinic, we typically see musculoskeletal complaints, so taking the time to participate in exercises and training like this helps our medics get hands-on experience and work as a team to respond to the types of events that they don’t see every day.”
Airmen constantly train to keep DM and the MDG ready for any situation at any time. DM is committed to the safety and wellbeing of the Air Force’s most valuable resource, its Airmen and their families, by building their readiness, resilience, and relationships.