Quarterly exercise may cause delays

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WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Base officials will conduct quarterly exercises here Oct. 29 - Nov. 2. Several independent scenarios are planned ranging from a simulated robbery of a base facility to an active shooter in an office building.

Many base operations will continue as scheduled with minimal disruptions, however personnel should expect multiple emergency responses and periods of tightened security. Temporary gate traffic back-ups, road closures and re-routings are likely and access to some buildings may be briefly interrupted during peak exercise periods. Base residents and neighbors may overhear announcements over the installation "Giant Voice" emergency notification system. Expect visible response by firefighters, security forces, medical personnel and other agencies.

Delivery of services such as issuance of military identification cards could also be temporarily interrupted, officials said. A computer security exercise component may results in pop-ups or other directives for users on Wright-Patterson networks. All of the activity will be observed by trained exercise evaluation team members. Most of the scenarios are planned to take place during normal duty hours for the bulk of the base workforce.

Col. Cassie Barlow, 88th Air Base Wing commander, noted the exercises as vital to installation readiness.

"I want to underscore these are installation-level exercises, so everyone on base can expect to participate to some degree. If an evaluator hands you an input card, or a first responder gives you direction, play it as if it were real." Colonel Barlow said. "We've worked hard to make the scenarios realistic for the various training audiences, while trying to minimize adverse impacts that are broadly felt. I want to say thanks in advance for everyone's patience and understanding."

Recognizing signs of potential workplace violence, and taking appropriate actions when an active shooter is in the vicinity and when law enforcement arrives can save lives, said Kraig Bradford, an exercise planner with the 88th Air Base Wing. Equally important is for trained personnel to know how to quickly respond and use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) if someone experiences a cardiac arrest. Proper AED use will be evaluated throughout the week.

Other elements planned include an evaluation of wartime skills, the ability to survive and operate in a wartime scenario. Selected Airmen will show their expertise by demonstrating proficiency in areas such as weapons maintenance, contamination avoidance, contamination control, self-aid buddy care, and casualty movement and post-attack reconnaissance team operations.