West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area. Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
West Point conducted its annual Integrated Protection Exercise on March 13 to assess the installation’s emergency response and recovery capabilities with a realistic mass casualty (MASCAL) scenario.
The scenario involved a traffic accident with a Directorate of Public Works snowplow truck and post shuttle bus with several occupants onboard along Pitcher Road, in the vicinity of Eisenhower Hall and Gillis Field House.
“The MASCAL is a component of many large-scale emergencies but is often not given adequate play time during exercises as the focus is usually on the primary threat (during active shooter scenarios),” said Annie Flores, West Point Installation Emergency Manager. “The (Office of Emergency Management) wanted to give the opportunity to test this fundamental (MASCAL scenario) because it requires so much coordination to get it right.”
Role-players across the installation portrayed patients, allowing first responders to exercise patient triage and coordination with external agencies and hospitals from the surrounding area.
“The incident escalated to a mass casualty event with 20 patients requiring attention,” said Matt Woods, Directorate of Emergency Services interim fire chief. “Firefighters, alongside the West Point Military Police, Keller Army Community Hospital’s (KACH) Emergency Medical Services, (Orange) County coordinators and other assets swiftly executed triage, facilitated patient transport to nearby medical facilities, and managed the emergency scene.
“Tragically, the snowplow truck driver succumbed to injuries on-site,” Woods added about the results of the MASCAL. “The scene was later handed over to the MPs and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) for recovery and investigation.”
Evaluators were present to note the performance helping build the after-action report and guiding future training.
“Orange County provided assistance with EMS coordination as well as help with internal evaluation,” Flores stated. “The evaluators are subject matter experts in the field/tasks that they are observing and will be providing input on performance for lessons learned and after action. The evaluators were from Orange County, Keller and internal U.S. Army Garrison personnel (West Point Fire Department).”
The exercise allowed KACH’s military and civilian staff an opportunity to drill and validate its emergency response procedures.
“It was a great opportunity to prepare to support our greater West Point community in the face of real-world emergencies,” said Paul Netzel, KACH Emergency Manager.
While the staged accident site was the most visible part of this year’s exercise, many offices and functions participated or supported the incident. With members from Garrison and throughout USMA, the West Point Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activated and functioned as an information hub and assisted with coordinating the incident, which in turn prepares all on-post and off-post entities for a real-world incident at West Point.
“MASCAL responses require several different specialties to converge and integrate immediately,” Flores explained. “There may be additional tasks and concerns on scene that must be mitigated before or during patient triage. Any training to improve coordination, communication and interoperability has a positive impact on real-world outcomes.”
In times of emergency, the effects can ripple throughout the community, necessitating leaders to have access to the most accurate information, allowing them to make real-time decisions about road or gate closures, mission impacts, and changes to routine and special events.
From both the positive and negative aspect, the exercise allowed all first-responder personnel to get a feel of what right looks like when dealing with something more extensive than what they may normally be used to.
“Timing in an exercise is difficult as we have developed a series of tasks to move the incident, however, the responders aren’t following a script,” Flores said. “Some tasks took more time and others took less than the allotted time, so there is continual refinement to ensure the scenario stays on track. Overall, the team learned a lot and we will use the lessons learned to identify gaps for future training.”
In addition to the role-playing phase of the incident, the activation of the mass warning notifications system known as ALERT! was activated to inform the community about emergencies and related impacts directly through their cellphones. All installation personnel are required to register for the system and CAC holders can validate their information at https://alert.csd.disa.mil/.
“We have seen a significant increase in registration for the ALERT! system in recent months,” Flores said. “However, it is important that personnel also respond to the messages by selecting the appropriate option.”
This action requires that each message to be opened and read completely, as instructions and responses may change as the situation develops.
“It is one tool we use to reach out to the entire population quickly,” Flores explained. “The responses help the EOC gauge resources and where to place them. Sending in a response will also stop the system from trying to contact you repeatedly with the same message.”
For assistance with ALERT! accounts, contact Flores in the Emergency Management Office at 845-938-7092 or via email at anne-marie.flores.civ@army.mil.
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