Airmen from the 730th Air Mobility Squadron evaluate Master Sgt. Richard Woody, who was “injured’ by a simulated bomb blast Wednesday at Yokota’s passenger terminal. (T.D. Flack / S&S)
Airmen from the 730th Air Mobility Squadron evaluate Master Sgt. Richard Woody, who was “injured’ by a simulated bomb blast Wednesday at Yokota’s passenger terminal. (T.D. Flack / S&S)
Personnel from the 374th Logistical Readiness Squadron at Yokota inspect cargo during Wednesday's exercise. (T.D. Flack / S&S)
Airman Michelle Graves, a member of the 74th Medical Group waits for “patients” Wednesday at a decontamination tent. (Val Gempis / U.S. Air Force)
Airmen from the 374th Medical Group move a "victim" of a simulated chemical weapons attack into a patient decontamination area. (T.D. Flack / S&S)
Personnel from the 374th Medical Group treat "victims" of a simulated chemical weapons attack Wednesday. (T.D. Flack / S&S)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The bomb blasts, troop deployments and chemical weapon attacks here this week might have been simulated, but the hours of work that went into proving Yokota can operate under attack were anything but pretend.
The 374th Airlift Wing recalled its personnel early Sunday evening — resulting in snaking lines of traffic from the housing areas and a rush for caffeine drinks and snacks at the base stores as the airmen reported for an Operational Readiness Exercise.
Officials said the ORE, which ended Wednesday, was to test how the wing conducts its flying mission in a chemical environment.
Airmen across the base scrambled during extended work shifts to react to scenarios directed by the wing Inspector General’s Office.
Squadron members assist the IG as Exercise Evaluation Team, or EET, members, lending valuable experience in developing realistic scenarios and evaluating their co-workers’ performance.
One large-scale test came Wednesday afternoon, when ambulances rushed to a stop near a large, green tent in front of the 374th Medical Group’s hospital. Medical personnel and the patients — victims of a chemical attack — were clad in nuclear, biological and chemical protective suits.
According to Col. Steve Shaffer, medical group director of organizational compliance, the 19-person decontamination team “removes or neutralizes, to the extent possible, nuclear, biological and chemical agents on wartime casualties prior to being admitted to a military treatment facility.”
He said the team provides triage, basic life support and wound management during decontamination while administering nerve agent antidotes.
Master Sgt. Janet Lightburn, part of the 374th’s evaluation team, thought the personnel were “doing very well” in the exercise. She said they train monthly to run the decontamination team.
Across the flight line, Staff Sgt. Everardo Armendariz was busy augmenting the 374th Logistical Readiness Squadron, where he works as a cargo controller during both in exercises and the real world.
The squadron processes equipment and personnel leaving Yokota on deployments and was one of the ORE’s focal points, base officials said.
Rows of cargo lined the staging areas outside Building 400 and squadron airmen scrutinized the manifests, ensuring the right equipment would get on the right plane and hit the right destination.
The ORE was the first time Armendariz has “seen how this part of the machine works,” he said, pointing to the gear and C-130 cargo planes. He said it gave him “a new perspective on how things work.”
Some units, such as the 730th Air Mobility Squadron, created additional internal scenarios to help sharpen their skills.
Master Sgt. Robert Martel, EET chief with the 730th, evacuated his airmen from the their squadron work areas, including the passenger terminal, on Wednesday after a bomb threat was received. When they were released back to the terminal, they discovered two bomb-blast victims on the floor.
The airmen immediately began “treating” Master Sgt. Richard Woody and 1st Lt. Cynthia Flores — squadron volunteers wearing realistic wound kits simulating broken bones, burns and, in Woody’s case, exposed intestines.
Tech. Sgt. Dominic Mazza, also part of the 730th’s EET, said the airmen made a few mistakes during the training, “but that’s what it’s for.”
“They were really proactive and really treated this as if it were real,” Mazza said. “The majority of them are new, so that’s why we’re doing this training.”
Airman 1st Class Mike Hendry, who’s been in the Air Force about seven months, thought the scenario was effective.
“My initial reaction was, ‘wow, there’s a guy with his guts hanging out,’” he said. That was followed quickly by “How do we keep this guy alive?”
According to Col. Michael Koster, 374th Inspector General, OREs “make sure the wing and tenants are prepared for any contingency or crisis.”
He said having well-trained airmen allows the wing to “pick up at a moment’s notice” like it did in providing tsunami relief in South Asia, earthquake relief in Niigata, Japan, and typhoon relief in Guam.
