Pvt. William Conroy, 121st Combat Support Hospital, administers an IV during a mass casualty exercise at the Seoul American High School gym at Yongsan Garrison. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
Pvt. William Conroy, 121st Combat Support Hospital, administers an IV during a mass casualty exercise at the Seoul American High School gym at Yongsan Garrison. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
Firefighters from the Yongsan Garrison Fire Departments simulate fighting a fire during a mass casualty exercise. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
Maj. Jay Baker, 121st Combat Support Hospital, shouts instructions to medical personnel after loading a casualty onto an ambulance during a mass casualty exercise. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
Medical personnel and firefighters from the Yongsan Garrison and Yongsan-gu fire departments load casualties onto stretchers during a mass casualty exercise. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Firefighters, medics and military police turned out in force Thursday in response to a simulated truck bomb that detonated after ramming the Seoul American High School gym, seriously wounding 22 soldiers.
Yongsan Garrison anti-terrorism officer Micheal Conroy kicked off the exercise by calling the fire department to announce a loud explosion and smoke.
Firefighters arrived minutes later and sprayed down the smoke machine, putting out the faux fire.
South Korean firefighters who assist the garrison under a mutual aid agreement arrived shortly after and crews cleared the gym of “casualties” — moaning and shrieking 18th Medical Command soldiers dressed with fake wounds.
They moved the wounded to the parking lot in front of the gym for triage.
Medical personnel from the 121st Combat Support Hospital arrived to treat and evacuate the wounded.
Conroy said hospital personnel requested the exercise to assess their emergency room capabilities. But he decided to add the anti-terrorist element by providing intelligence information for his staff to analyze while having soldiers guard gates around the installation after the “explosion.”
