LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – The 47th Medical Group
hosted a decontamination training course on Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas,
Sept. 22, 2016.
The training helped prepare Airmen, as well as local Val
Verde County medical community members, for potential chemical, biological,
radiological and nuclear disasters.
During the two-day exercise, students were given hands-on experience
with setting up and utilizing in-place patient decontamination equipment in a
deployed environment. The class set up a medical treatment facility, donned
their full-body decontamination suits and treated patients accordingly – all
while controlling harmful contaminants.
“The class did a great job,” said T.J. Bocek, the instructor
of the course. “Their focus and determination told me they were not only
motivated but taking the course seriously.”
The team successfully set up the medical treatment facility
in just a few minutes and administered aid to simulated patients almost
immediately after arriving on the scene.
"The training helped me become more confident in my
responsibilities on the team,” said Airman 1st Class Jesse Hendrix, 47th
Medical Operations Squadron aerospace and operational physiology technician.
“If decontamination became part of a real world scenario here at Laughlin,
there is no doubt that we'll be ready for it."