Moody weathers storm during disaster exercise

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Eric Schloeffel
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Team Moody hunkered down and took special measures in the wake of a major storm during a hurricane evaluation exercise June 11-14. 

As "Hurricane Peter" battered the base, Airmen put plans into play, and prepared for the possibility of a real-world disaster scenario, said Master Sgt. Dan Williams, 23rd Wing plans and programs superintendent. 

"These exercises allow us to see how the base would respond if a disaster actually occurred," he said. "Hopefully, the lessons learned will become second nature so if it does occur, Moody can take the right measures to keep our people and resources safe."
These exercises serve as a requirement and occur annually at Moody, said Sergeant Williams. 

"In accordance with the Air Force Instruction, we are required to conduct one no-notice natural disaster exercise every year," he said. "We choose to simulate hurricanes because they are the most likely scenario we would face in this area." 

The wing's combat search and rescue mission is also a reason for this repeated scenario, as preparations were taken for possible rescue missions as the storm made landfall in the vicinity of Panama City, Fla. The exercise also allowed Moody's CSAR element to make decisions on if or when they needed to evacuate aircraft to prevent structural damage. 

In addition to CSAR, the exercise tested many support functions. This included a hostage scenario involving a disgruntled hurricane evacuee who entered the Airman and Family Readiness Center armed with a loaded gun and propane tank. The 23rd Medical Group was also put to the test when several simulated evacuees demanded medications they had left behind in the storm-ravaged areas. 

"We came up with some rather unique scenarios to see how people would react," said Senior Master Sgt. Ed Kuczynski, 23rd WG plans and program deputy chief. "We tried to make it as realistic as possible and many of the scenarios are built upon situations that actually occurred in the past." 

One main difference between this hurricane exercise and those in the past was the lack of a letter of instruction, which gave all exercise participants step-by-step guidance on how to handle individual situations, said Sergeant Williams. This new approach streamlined the exercise planning process for the 23rd WG plans and programs office and forced Airmen to think on their feet rather than read from a playbook. 

"Not having an LOI helped the Airmen handle the situations on their own and work with their chain of command to solve issues," he said. "It also allowed them to learn from their mistakes which is a major benefit when facing real-world events." 

But while this new and improved exercise version might help instill more realism, it's always imperative Airmen take the scenarios as seriously as possible, said Sergeant Williams. 

"When it comes to any exercise, people only get what they put in," he said. "It's OK to make mistakes during these exercises, but it's also important to react like you would if the event was actually happening. In essence, that's what training is all about."