FORT SILL, Okla. (Aug. 14, 2014) -- Fort Sill will conduct its annual postwide disaster exercise Aug. 27 (Wednesday). Motorists can expect backups at Fort Sill's gates beginning about 9 a.m. Key gates East and West and Apache Gate will have normal operations, which means random vehicle inspections. All other gates will experience 100-percent vehicle checks between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Drivers will also want to avoid the intersection of Mow-Way and Sheridan roads during that time
because of road closures. AAFES has agreed to close the Mow-Way Shoppette for eight hours to help facilitate the exercise.
Any Fort Sill customers, Soldiers, families or workers who are in the exercise area when it happens will be inconvenienced, said Robert Daul, installation anti-terrorist officer."We are going to make the exercise realistic whether the scenarios involve an accident or terrorist event."
The power from Substation 2 will be shut off as part of the exercise simulating an explosion and subsequent power outage. Therefore the area south of Sheridan Road and west of Fort Sill Boulevard, including Building 4700, Buffalo Soldier Acres Neighborhood, Reynolds Army Community Hospital, the child development centers and the Forces Command brigades all the way to FOB Mow-Way will lose power and have to implement emergency plans. The power outage may last up to two hours.
Parents of students at Sheridan Road Children's School and Geronimo Road Elementary School will receive letters explaining what to expect that day, Daul said.
The exercise will also emphasize realistic time scenarios for response, the AT officer said. For example, if a unit needed to draw weapons from the Ammunition Supply Point.The unit would be at the ASP for, say 45 minutes, the real-world time it would take to get the ammo. Or, if the fire chief said it would take 90 minutes to put out this fire, his crews would remain at the scene for 1.5 hours before responding to the next exercise scenario.
This anti-terrorist exercise is an annual training requirement by Installation Management Command to test the Fires Center or Excellence and Fort Sill's disaster response. Every agency from emergency
operations center to emergency services to logistics and transportation will be evaluated.
It will test the post's emergency response procedures and processes,what lessons can be learned to improve responses, as well as preparation for a real-world events, Daulsaid.The response procedures will be applicable to virtually any emergency situation that might occur on post including natural disasters, accidents, fires, terrorist attacks and hazardous material spills.
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