FORT LIBERTY, N.C. – At the sound of the fire alarm, all nine floors of the soldier support center began their evacuation as part of Fort Liberty Garrison’s large-scale-mass-casualty exercise Aug. 9.
Garrison directorates, partner agencies and even those under other commands, such as Womack Army Medical Center, worked together throughout the day to practice and test the emergency response capabilities of the installation.
“Full scale exercises provide a controlled environment to validate and/or identify issues or concerns enabling the installation to provide the best services and response possible,” said Shane Woodmancy, installation emergency manager. “They ensure we as an installation are able to function at our highest when the Fort Liberty Families and community members are at their lowest.”
The exercise was carefully planned and executed to minimize the disruption of services to the service members, Families, retirees, veterans, and Department of Defense civilians who rely on the organizations is the SSC.
“The preparation process is not one to be taken lightly,” explained Adam Buehler, installation emergency manager supervisor. “The team started planning the exercise nearly a year and a half ago and worked with subject matter experts to make the exercise have a realistic feel and target areas in need of evaluation.”
All agencies participating in the exercise were able to practice the installation recall process, crisis response, and specific skill sets necessary to support the incident commander. Through this process, the installation was able to validate procedures, supporting documents and standing operating procedures.
“Thanks to the exercise we have tested our capabilities and will be moving forward with lessons learned so we can best serve our community,” said Woodmancy. “However, while the installation has a plan on how we will react to an incident, we implore the Fort Liberty Families and community members to do the same and ‘Have a Kit, Make a Plan.’”
To learn more about how your family can be prepared in an emergency go to https://www.ready.gov/plan.
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