Force protection exercise puts Army, host nation teams to the test

By Karl Weisel (USAG Wiesbaden)July 8, 2010

Force protection exercise puts Army, host nation teams to the test
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Force protection exercise puts Army, host nation teams to the test
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Force protection exercise puts Army, host nation teams to the test
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WIESBADEN, Germany - Hostages being held at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield credit union, a car explosion and bus accident at the Mainz-Kastel Transportation Motor Pool and a chemical spill were all situations facing garrison and host nation responders during a Force Protection Exercise in Wiesbaden June 25-26.

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The two-day training event, the first of its kind for a garrison in Europe, according to Glen Moonilal, U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden's chief of plans and operations for the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, brought 180 host nation first responders together with more than a 120 garrison military and civilian medical, law enforcement, security and other representatives to test their abilities to confront various training challenges.

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"This was the first time that a garrison went to force protection condition Charlie and then Delta during an exercise in Europe," said Moonilal pointing out several unique aspects of the Wiesbaden garrison-wide event. "It was also the first time we tested the shelter-in-place program."

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Introduced last year, the shelter-in-place program calls for employees to immediately secure their areas and seek communal shelter in designated "safe" areas when notified by the Military Police or other authorities during a crisis situation such as the June 25 training event in which 15 people were supposedly being held hostage by a gunman who had fired shots on the airfield.

"We also tested our ability to bring on the installation host nation authorities and local national employees during increased force protection conditions," said Moonilal.

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A loud boom and car explosion signaled the start of day two of the exercise at the Mainz-Kastel Motor Pool. As German paramedics and fire department crews quickly arrived on the scene, they coordinated with the U.S. military law enforcement Soldiers and civilians to assess the situation, extinguish a vehicle fire and begin caring for the "injured" role players. Command and control vehicles were put in place with officials monitoring the situation, updating the incident commander and Consequence Management Team back at the garrison and working together to secure the area and provide immediate assistance.

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"It went very well with the amount of first responders on the scene," said Otis Hawes, USAG Wiesbaden's force protection officer. "Our host nation response was excellent as always."

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A couple of other firsts in U.S. Army Europe for USAG Wiesbaden during this year's exercise included using the Integrated Administration and Control System to determine authorized personnel under force protection conditions Charlie and Delta and the implementation of lockdown procedures at installation access control points, said Hawes. "This was only the second time the garrison recalled and deployed all seven of our Quick Reaction Forces teams throughout the area of operations during a full-scale anti-terrorism exercise.

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Teams were provided by 1st Armored Division, 5th Signal Command, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade and the 421st Multifunctional Medical Battalion."

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Hawes described how planning for the exercise started last November, and he praised the support provided by host nation officials.

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"This is a great opportunity for us to work through procedures and different issues," said Col. Jeffrey Dill, USAG Wiesbaden commander, during a "hotwash" exercise review following the training event.

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As representatives from the various agencies, organizations and directorates discussed positive and negative aspects of the training exercise, one common theme was the need for better communication - overcoming some language challenges and improved tactical networking.

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Rainer Schremmer, chief of plans and operations for the Wiesbaden Fire Department, praised the opportunity to test such a wide array of first responders during the exercise, but underscored the need for having competent individuals with both German and English language skills on the scene.

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"Exercises like this help us identify our weaknesses so that we can improve upon them," summed up Mason White of the garrison's DPTMS.

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