Photo By Charéll de Koster | U.S. Army Garrison Benelux personnel and Belgian emergency responders react to an...... read more read more
CHIEVRES, Belgium – From 140 Belgian and French paratroopers parachuting from the sky to the emergency response of dozens of Belgian and German police, fire and ambulance personnel, U.S. Army Garrison Benelux was abuzz with operations in support of the Belgian-led Storm Tide 24 multinational exercise at Chièvres Air Base and an Integrated Protection Exercise (IPE) at Zutendaal and Dülmen Army Pre-positioned Stock-2 (APS-2) sites.
Both exercises covered a wide range of real-world crises, from a multinational Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) for Storm Tide 24, to the electrocution of warehouse workers and a railhead accident for the IPE.
The varied scenarios, together with significant multinational and host nation participation, highlight the strategic importance of the garrison’s installations and mission.
“We demonstrate our garrison’s readiness every day - whether we are conducting garrison-level exercises at Dülmen and Zutendaal or supporting the Belgian-led multinational exercise Storm Tide 24,” said Col. Lindsay Matthews, USAG Benelux commander. “These exercises validate our important role in enhancing regional defense and security together with host-nation emergency responders, Allied military forces and joint U.S. forces in Europe.”
A unique Army base with a NATO airfield operated by U.S. Airmen
For Storm Tide 24, Chièvres Air Base (CAB) became a hub for multinational air operations involving Belgian, French, Spanish and U.S. aircraft that supported the simulated NEO of approximately 900 Belgian reservists and civilians. The evacuees were flown to the NATO airfield at CAB from multiple locations in Belgium, where they were processed by Belgian foreign affairs officials just like a real NEO crisis. CAB was also the training ground for Belgian Special Forces, Dutch Marines and French Soldiers who simulated the takeover and securing of an airfield during a crisis operation.
“This exercise is paramount for us because this is one of our main tasks … to be able to evacuate our citizens from anywhere in the world,” said Lt. Col. Jean-Charles Defawes, Second Commando Battalion commander. “So we have to train for this kind of operation in realistic circumstances, which is why we come here to Chièvres Air Base. They offer a lot of flexibility, opportunity and realistic infrastructure.”
The NATO airfield at CAB is operated by the 424th Air Base Squadron (ABS) of the United States Air Force, which normally supports 10 air operations (including arrivals and departures) per week in support of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). For Storm Tide 24, the mission tempo jumped dramatically to 96 operations for the week, an increase of 860%.
For the approximately 60 Airmen of the 424th ABS, this surge in air operations is a challenge that provides realistic training for times of crisis or war and forces everyone to work together as one seamless team.
“It's a big muscle movement for the whole squadron. Everybody has a piece in supporting these operations,” said Lt. Col. Chelsea Hall, 424th ABS commander. “A lot of our sections are only one or two members deep, so it forces us to come together and learn other people's jobs under the Multi-Capable Airman concept.”
For Staff Sgt. Kevin Hallam, a U.S. Air Force air traffic controller, the opportunity to work in a multinational environment at a NATO airfield with drop zones and landing operations is a unique opportunity that provides valuable experience that will help him advance and become a landing zone controller.
When it comes to radio contact with pilots from across the Alliance, the different accents can sometimes be a little challenging to understand, said Hallam. But it’s also something easily overcome because the contact here is like a friendly conversation, and they talk in more detail to ensure everyone understands, he said.
Protecting people and assets at Army APS-2 sites
The garrison Integrated Protection Exercise is an annual training event that ensures garrison staff, Army Field Support Battalion personnel and host nation emergency responders have the opportunity to train together to respond jointly to an emergency or crisis at USAG Benelux installations. These installations, located in Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, rely heavily on partnership and support from host nation police, ambulance and fire departments for the safety and security of garrison personnel and Army materiel.
“Host nation participation is critical because in the event a real-world emergency happens, it is the host nation emergency services that will respond, take incident command, provide aid to the casualties and transport casualties,” said Lauryn Miramontes, an operations specialist at Zutendaal APS-2 site. “Exercising with our host nation directly affects mission readiness in ensuring we have the most current and correct battle rhythm in place for requesting host nation emergency services and our host nation is familiar with the personnel, buildings, and equipment on our installation.”
For this year’s IPE, particular emphasis was made to create emergency training scenarios based upon routine garrison operations. At the Zutendaal site, the scenario involved the electrocution of three warehouse workers to test the emergency response from both Brunssum Military Police and Belgian first responders. At the Dülmen site, the scenario involved an Army Humvee that fell off a railhead ramp killing one person and injuring a second, requiring the support of German police, fire and medical personnel.
"The host nation emergency responders were happy to participate in the exercise and said they would like to do it more often," said John Hopper, USAG Benelux Emergency Manager. "Garrison and tenant unit staff were also reassured that in case of an emergency incident, the garrison and our host nation partners are ready to respond jointly to get them back up to being safe and mission ready."
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.29.2024 08:39 |
| Story ID: | 472412 |
| Location: | CHIEVRES, HAINAUT (WAL), BE |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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