SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - Various emergency responders, along with Soldiers from the 71st Chemical Company, 303rd Ordnance Disposal Battalion (EOD), 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, tested their emergency response training during the All Hazards Full-Scale Exercise (AHFSE), June 7, at Area-X, here.
When responding to an incident or crisis, first responders have one chance to get it right. Conducting critical training exercises such as the AHFSE, enables the various first responders from the different organizations who must come together, to improve their skills and to learn each other's capabilities, while improving response times, streamlining processes and enhancing interagency relationships.
Incident Commander Kevin Ramos, Battalion Chief of Operations with the Federal Fire Department in Honolulu said learning to work together, understanding each other's tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) and knowing what assets each element brings to the table is key to responding to an incident or crisis.
"This exercise was particularly important for us because we have never had the chance to work with the 71st Chemical Company before. We don't know what their capabilities are and they don't know what ours are," said Ramos.
He added, "The more that we get to train with these companies that may come on scene when we request them, the quicker and cleaner our responses will be."
On-site for the training was Sgt. 1st Class Courtney Drayton, a platoon sergeant with 71st Chem. Co.
"It was a good learning opportunity for our Soldiers who received a lot of hands-on training," said Drayton. "They were able to see how responding to an event like this would work in a real-world mission."
Drayton stressed, "It's very important that the Soldiers get these skills under their belts, so that when we are faced with real-world missions, they know exactly how to handle it."
This year's exercise consisted of three different objectives: locate and rescue victims trapped inside a collapsed building; identify, contain and clean up a suspicious chemical spill and contain and clean up a petroleum spill.
"It went well. Our unified command with the police, the 71st, with the Department of Public Works and all of the other agencies that came out fit perfectly," said Ramos about the AHFSE.
Ramos added, "Obviously we can always improve and we have already committed to training more with the 71st, so that our responses can be better in the future."
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