Photo By Staff Sgt. Ian Kummer | Lt. Ron Brown, Firefighter Lonnie Triplet, Firefighter Brett Fontaine and Engineer...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas – It was a warm afternoon at the airfield. Dozens of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters sat dormant on the grass. The low rumble of vehicles could be heard in the distance. This tranquil scene suddenly exploded into action. Soldiers hastily disembarked one of the helicopters. Minutes later emergency vehicles pulled up nearby, disgorging fire fighters in full protective gear who sprayed down the area around the aircraft.
There was no helicopter crash, no fires, and no ¬one was hurt. This was a drill to test the involved organizations’ ability to respond to a real-life emergency.
The California Army National Guard 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, initiated their pre-accident plan with the Fort Hood Fire Department at Fort Hood, Texas, Oct. 10, 2015.
The 1-140th is training to deploy with the 40th CAB to support stability operations in the Middle East in 2016.
The drill was over, but there was more work to be done. The involved Soldiers on the airfield and the battalion tactical operations center (TOC) met afterward for a thorough after action review (AAR) to discuss what they had learned during the exercise.
“This is a trial by fire,” said Spc. Mark Morales, a radio transmissions operator with Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) of the 1-140th. “Throw everyone into a stressful situation and see how they do.”
As the simulated disaster unfolded, it was crucial for every Soldier regardless of rank or job title to communicate with the people around him. A bad situation is made worse by confusion, and failure to communicate can result in more Soldiers being hurt or not getting help in a timely manner.
“The TOC is hectic, if wrong information gets out things go bad real quick,” Morales said.
Morales has been in the National Guard 8 years and has served on a variety of domestic missions. Many of the Soldiers in the battalion have deployed overseas as well.
But one of the most important challenges facing any unit is training less experienced Soldiers to be prepared and fully-functional in the most demanding situations. Earlier training events, including a Warfighter Exercise at Fort Hood last June, and a brigade exercise at Camp Roberts, Calif., in August, has given the 40th CAB opportunities to school up their new Soldiers before they start their final preparations to deploy.
“I went to Warfighter too… I feel like we have good leadership and can get the job done,” said Pfc. Santos Sanchez, a blue force tracker operator with HHC, 1-140th.
Sanchez has been in the National Guard for a little over two years, and is excited to go on his first deployment with his brothers and sisters of the 40th CAB.
“Today was eye opening,” Sanchez said. “It’s great to get your hands dirty.”
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2015 12:42 |
| Story ID: | 178897 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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