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Joint Base Charleston holds pre-air show readiness exercise

  • Published
  • By Michael Dukes
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. --  Joint Base Charleston conducted a major accident response exercise here March 22, in preparation for the upcoming Air Expo.

The purpose of the exercise was to prepare Team Charleston for any possible scenarios that could arise at the April 9 Air Expo and to "challenge all of our first responders and commanders to deal with any issues," said David Hunt, exercise coordinator. Members of Joint Base Charleston also practiced working in conjunction with local community first responders, who had representatives at the exercise.

During a table-top exercise that took place earlier in the morning, base and local community response officials discussed situations ranging from child abductions to aircraft crashes. After exhausting many possibilities and solutions at the table, they prepared for the hands-on portion of the drill.

The hands-on scenario was designed to test actual response and capabilities of base personnel in the event of a major aircraft crash. Smoke grenades and an artillery simulation grenade set things in motion on the flight line. To add realism, base officials created a "plane crash" scene with volunteer "casualties" in realistic injury makeup.

Once on scene, base responders treated the "injured," maintained the security of the "crash" site and insured the safety and wellbeing of the public in the area of the "crash."

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