Joint exercise tests disaster response Published Aug. 11, 2011 By 2nd Lt. Ken Lustig Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Air Force participated in a joint emergency deployment exercise July 22, 2011, at Nellis Air Force Base. The exercise tested the ability of FEMA's Nevada Urban Search and Rescue Task Force One to stage for a major emergency or disaster scene aboard a military cargo aircraft. The Nevada task force is one of several groups of rescue and response specialists throughout the country who rotate as FEMA's primary "on-call" disaster response team. The task force is prepared to conduct search and rescue operations with a variety of equipment, from power saws that cut through rebar-reinforced concrete and portable medical response packs for trauma care, to a portable satellite system and hydraulic equipment to reinforce collapsed buildings. Paul Bailey, the task force's operations manager, said in a real emergency his agency would have just six hours to prepare more than 70 personnel, search dogs and more than 20,000 equipment items, pack the items and have everything ready to load onto an aircraft at Nellis. This exercise tested the entire process, from recalling the task force by telephone, to the point just before they would board an aircraft. "In an emergency or disaster situation, time is a precious resource," Bailey said. "Every minute you cut out of your response time means more lives that can be saved. "Participating in this exercise with the Air Force means that we can take a realistic look at our process for getting our people to the scene," he added. "We learned a lot in just the first few hours of our exercise, and we'll go over everything that happens in detail after we're done to improve everything we can." The task force ordinarily deploys by truck, but in certain cases where a faster response is needed, FEMA could call upon the Air Force to move their rescue teams. The process of doing that was not commonly practiced, so the two agencies planned the exercise in order to test it. "We found some mistakes and some hang-ups, but we want that to happen in the exercise so we see where the problems would be in real life," Bailey continued. "We have already made some tweaks that will get us out the door more quickly in a real response." The requirements of moving such a large amount of gear and personnel in a short time can make things complicated, said Chris Thurman, task force logistics manager. "We try to have everything ready to go out the door in the most efficient manner we can," Thurman said. "After Hurricane Katrina, we went through everything we do to make sure we'll be ready if we get the call. "There were a lot of delays in Katrina between agencies, with this one not calling that one and that one not knowing who to talk to at the other one," he added. "There were a lot of plans on paper that didn't work out. "Still, we actually saved more than 40,000 people in Katrina and our people did some amazing things, but we want to improve our response because the delays and problems were all the public heard about. By doing this exercise and checking everything from start to finish, we're making sure we can make things happen better in the future," Thurman concluded. Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Reichelt, 99th Logistics Readiness Squadron passenger terminal superintendent, said that the Air Force is fully supportive of FEMA's efforts. For this exercise, members of the 99 LRS were on hand to receive FEMA's passengers and inspect their cargo to ensure it was ready to fly and to provide training and feedback. "We move people and cargo day in and day out, but there are a lot of special requirements when you're bringing those onboard a military aircraft that not everyone is used to," Reichelt said. "We're glad to work with them and help them out so if we had to do this for real, hopefully everything will go smoothly and they can get where they need to go without unnecessary delays." Thurman praised the cooperation FEMA received from Nellis, and says base and FEMA staff have discussed plans to exercise together annually.
