STUTTGART, Germany -- All over the world, the U.S. military provides support in emergency management, including during the recent flooding in Pakistan and earthquake in Haiti.
But if a disaster struck here in U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, the military would have to rely on host nation emergency first responders and catastrophe management teams, in addition to American personnel.
To give both groups a chance to practice for emergencies, a biological attack was staged on Kelley Barracks Sept. 18, as part of the garrison's annual force protection exercise, Stallion Shake.
"It is all about the cooperation with the host nation. We have to work side by side in order to respond to an emergency on the military installation and to resolve all issues," said Col. Carl D. Bird, garrison commander.
Karl DAfAPrsam, USAG Stuttgart fire chief, explained the scenario. "We dealt with a sabotage of the water system," he said. "The drinking water and water for domestic use was contaminated with a substance called sodium cyanide, a highly toxic chemical that interferes with the body's ability to use oxygen.
"The victims show different forms of poisoning, but an exposure to sodium cyanide can be rapidly fatal," he added.
At first, the incident was reported as a medical emergency, but shortly after, the scenario made it clear that the military installation was attacked by terrorists.
"Experts refer to this as a CBRN: a chemical biological radiological nuclear incident," said Ronald Kirkemo, USAG Stuttgart emergency manager.
Minutes after the incident was reported, the first responders (fire rescue personnel and military police) arrived on the scene at the Kelley Fitness Center and the Kelley Child Development Center.
"This exercise is a multi-echelon and combined effort. Besides host nation agencies, almost every garrison directorate is participating, not only on site but also in the Emergency Operations Center," said USAG Stuttgart Director of Emergency Services Maj. George Self. "[Practicing] hands-on is necessary to consider yourself trained for a real world scenario."
In the case of an emergency, the military police are the first ones to call the garrison fire department. The fire department then calls the Information Coordination Center in Stuttgart, which requests and mobilizes necessary host nation support units.
Upon the arrival of the firefighters (German and U.S.), the transition of the incident command took place and the Stuttgart fire chief, acting as German incident commander, took over for the military police. As DES, Self was the U.S incident commander.
"This is where the unified command comes in. German and U.S. first responders have to team up in order to work their resources best," Kirkemo said.
"This year, we utilized our decontamination equipment, which was operated by both German and U.S. fire rescue personnel. The exercise was a bilateral cooperation," he added.
Guidance and policies for this year's Stallion Shake were provided by the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program. The program's exercise policies constitute a national standard for exercise scenarios.
"The United States Army Garrison Stuttgart was the first garrison in Europe to fully implement the HSEEP as the guideline to conduct our exercises," said Kirkemo.
Besides U.S. rescue personnel and garrison directorates, many German first responders, including the Stuttgart firefighters, Technisches Hilfswerk (technical support unit), German Red Cross Stuttgart, Malteser Hilfsdienst (support unit) and the Polizei, participated in Stallion Shake.
"The cooperation and instruction on site went extremely well. We have to train back and forth in order to be prepared for an emergency like this," said Markus Hauser, incident commander on site from the Stuttgart fire department.
While the firefighters set up the weapons of mass destruction container - which houses shower units for decontamination procedures and equipment to register all contaminated items - the military police arrived with "Big Blue," the Emergency Operation Center on site. In addition, the German Red Cross, Technisches Hilfswerk and the Malteser Hilfsdienst set up their triage area with tents and equipment to conduct first aid procedures.
"We have a flexible tent and all the necessary medical material based on hospital standards. We take care of the injured until they are ready to be transported to a hospital," said Alexander Schlaich, a German Red Cross employee who manned the triage section.
Overall, this year's force protection exercise emphasized the importance of effective coordination between host nation and garrison rescue personnel, resources and equipment, according to Bird, the garrison commander.
"The cooperation was first rate. Our unified incident command worked closely together. Our residents that live here in the Stuttgart area don't have anything to worry about because they are getting the best care," Bird said.
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