Protesters chanted at the gate of Fort Stewart’s Wright Army Airfield. At Hunter Army Airfield, explosions consumed the fuel storage area and
spilled aircraft gas across a large swatch of the installation. April 14 was a bad day for the installation.
It was designed to be. And it was all an exercise. Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield holds Stewart Guardian annually. It’s the installation’s chance to implement and validate emergency response to scenarios like the ones practiced this year.
Garrison exercise planner Beau Bradley was responsible for creating this year’s exercise. He, along with others from the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, as well as emergency services, human resources, public works, and other garrison offices came together
to hash out the details to make the exercise rigorous and successful.
“I decided to leverage and trust organizations ‘trusted agents’ to communicate their directors’ intent to ensure we achieved success,” Bradley said. “Stewart Guardian 2021 exceeded my expectations as both Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield demonstrated excellence in the core capabilities we selected to exercise. Of note, we exercised both Installations on the same day, something that has not been accomplished on several years.”
Planning for the exercise began months in advance.
“As the DPTMS exercise planner, I spent significant time reviewing existing after action reviews to identify areas to exercise and develop a solid plan,”
Bradley said. The exercise was designed to be challenging but not impossible. Overall, the intent was to identify areas of both success and improvement.
“As with any training event, we observed areas to improve on and these will be addressed on the corrective action plans,” Bradley said. Garrison Commander Col. Bryan Logan called the exercise a success.
“Stewart Guardian was an excellent opportunity to stress our systems and teammates,” Logan said. “We always learn and grow from these training events. It’s all about keeping our community safe.”
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