Nellis proves its readiness Published May 14, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Oleksandra G. Manko Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- The combined Nellis and Mountain Home AFBs team won the 2007 Air Combat Command Chemical-Biological-Radiological-Nuclear (CBRN) Challenge that took place in Brooks AFB, Texas, April 2007. Tech. Sgt. Dawn Kolczynski and Senior Airman Stephanie Lewis, both with 99th Air Space Medical Squadron Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight, and Senior Airman Patrick Bellamy with 99th Civil Engineer Squadron's Emergency Management office participated in the event on behalf of the Nellis AFB. Six six-man teams, each representing two ACC bases, competed for the privilege to represent the ACC in a CBRN challenge at the Air Force level later this year. The five-day event consisted of five challenges - including a suspicious package scenario, a terrorist attack with a chemical explosion, a dirty bomb scenario, a chemical warfare response at a deployed location, and a biological threat incident. The teams had three hours for the completion of each scenario: they had to prepare their equipment, devise a plan of action, take samples, carry out decontamination procedures, and perform a health risk assessment. The teams faced two challenges a day, followed by a Jeopardy-style CBRN-related knowledge competition. The joint Nellis and Mountain Home team placed first in the chemical warfare and the dirty bomb scenarios, which granted them the overall victory. Working with people from another base provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and share strong points, said Airman Lewis. "Our team cooperated and got along very well," she said, "you would think we were all from the same office." Airman Bellamy emphasized the importance of bioenvironmental specialists working with CE. They learned what equipment each office had and what they were capable of together. It is important for the two offices to be familiar with each other, he said, because in a real life situation they will collaborate. Air Force Instruction 10-2501, updated Jan. 24, outlines the new emergency management system that ties in the emergency response agencies that used to operate independently, from fire fighters to security forces. For ACC bases, the 2007 CBRN Challenge is the first of its kind to provide an interactive hands-on learning opportunity for bioenvironmental and civil engineer specialists in realistic scenarios and assist in identifying policy and equipment gaps. The mission of Bioenvironmental Engineering is to conduct health risk assessments and make recommendations to the commander to ensure that personnel and equipment are protected and the flying mission continues, said Sergeant Kolczynski. CE Readiness flight, which handles emergency responses, uses a lot of the same equipment. It makes sense for the two to work together, she added. "Participating in the CBRN challenge gave us more confidence," said Sergeant Kolczynski. "Here at Nellis, we already employ the joint concept and have good working relationships with other emergency response offices. We are definitely prepared."
