Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas -- Laughlin conducted a two-day wing-wide exercise Oct. 29 and 30.
The exercises involved a simulated aircraft hijacking and an active shooter scenario, a combined force protection condition, and an anti-terrorism and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives scenario.
Day one simulated an explosion at an official mail building on Laughlin which tested the ability of key responders on base to manage the event, treat personnel and critically analyze second- and third-order effects.
Day two simulated an aircraft hijacking and active shooter scenario designed to test the ability of Laughlin’s personnel to protect aircraft, rapidly respond and engage an armed and hostile individual, provide emergency life-saving treatment to injured personnel and disseminate pertinent and timely information wing-wide.
“The goal of the exercises was to practice and evaluate the wing's ability to respond rapidly and effectively to the aforementioned events,” said Maj. Joshua Lane, 47th Flying Training Wing chief of wing exercises. “The events placed a strong emphasis on Command, Control and Communications and afforded wing personnel the opportunity to put into action procedures and actions that may occur during an emergency.”
The exercises involved multiple base agencies to include the fire department, security forces, medical group, force support, civil engineering, aircraft maintenance and specialized undergraduate pilot training students; all overseen by the inspector general and wing inspection team.
The IG and WIT’s were positioned in key areas throughout the exercise to evaluate the performance of wing personnel as the scenarios played out.
The IG and WIT team’s job is to observe and evaluate scenarios in an exercise in order to find areas of improvement. The results provide leadership with data points that can be used to target limited resources on preparedness improvements, explained Lane.
"Our IG's Exercise Evaluation Team does a great job ensuring that we are prepared for any scenario that arises," said Col. Thomas Shank, 47th Flying Training Wing commander. "Without a robust exercise program testing our readiness, we wouldn't be the Air Force's premier pilot training wing."
These exercises served as an example of the cooperation and communication needed between agencies to successfully complete an objective.
"As an observer on some of the events, I saw first-hand the amazing team work and sense of urgency that Team XL put forth to ensure we are Safe, Secure and Compliant in our operations," said Shank.