TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Inspector General’s office conducted multiple exercises last week to ensure Tinker’s preparedness for the worst case scenario.
This included an active shooter tabletop exercise, which is required twice a year by Air Force Instruction, a Major Accident (aircraft crash/mass casualty event) and crash recovery response exercise in preparation for the air show coming up in June.
The Oklahoma County Tactical Squad and Oklahoma County Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team were included in the exercise due to a memorandum of agreement between Oklahoma County and Tinker to respond to certain situations on base.
“The table top exercise included the active shooter event that required first responders including medical, fire and security forces to respond to a scene using the Air Force Incident Management System,” IG inspector and Team Chief for the exercise Scott Lindsey said. “It preps them for an event and shows them chronologically what they need to do and what needs to take place to ensure response to that type of threat.”
Due to the extensive nature of the drill and involvement from multiple organizations, preparations for the active shooter and aircraft crash exercise has been going on since January.
“As the lead controllers for the exercises, we’re also orchestrators to make sure everybody’s in place and all the props are set so that there’s a sense of realism to the exercise for the responders,” Lindsey said. “We develop a master schedule event listing for them and us to follow; it’s just making sure it all kicks off right.”
Part of that sense of realism included the placement of an aircraft fuselage on the flight line with smoke machines to simulate a fire for the fire department to control as well as prepping moulage victims for members of the 72nd Medical Group to respond to.
“Tragedies do happen, aircrafts can crash into crowds so we have to prep for that response,” Lindsey said. “We had about 20 moulage victims with various injuries to respond to and crowd interfering with responders to see how they would react. It’s all judgment based.”
The fire department was able to respond to the hazards of an aircraft when it crashes including fighting the fire as well as moving personnel out of the area and controlling hazards associated with an aircraft when it comes down including chemicals.
The training continued April 19 with a Crashed Damaged Disabled Aircraft Recovery simulated aircraft crash.
The scenario featured a Boeing EC-135, which had nose landing gear collapsed on the runway. The exercise was a joint effort between crews of the 552nd Air Control Wing, 507th Air Refueling Wing and 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group.
“These exercises focus on team coordination and proper use of the equipment,” CDDAR Supervisor Daniel Frey, 569th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron/MXDPB said.
Frey stated the exercise is also part of CDDAR annualized training that Josh Harvey, CDDAR team chief with the 569th AMXS, and his crew have to complete. That includes responding to an aircraft crash.
“It provides us with valuable hands-on training,” Harvey said.
Due to the wind, the crews were unable to completely simulate the event, but Dominic Gonzales, an inspector general with the Air Force Sustainment Center, said it was enough.
“These types of exercises allow each member to know their roles and responsibilities in accomplishing the mission, whatever that may be,” he said.
Regardless of the exercise, Lindsey said that success is all about team collaboration.
“We all work as team Tinker to make sure that these exercises and recovery aspects all go off as planned,” Lindsey said.