News

Med Group gears up for decon training

  • Published
  • By Jenny Gordon
  • Robins Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  You're shopping at the Base Exchange. All of a sudden patrons next to you begin passing out. Some sort of unseen chemical agent is floating in the air. You can't see or smell it, but you know something's up because you start to feel confused, dizzy, sick.
Next thing you know you're laid out next to a large white tent, and you're about to be sprayed down with warm water and soap by strangers wearing what looks like alien space suits.

Airmen in the 78th Medical Group prepare to respond to situations like the one above on a regular basis.

The May 5 scenario was part of a three-day, In-Place Patient Decontamination specialized class that included classroom training and hands-on instruction on assembling a shelter, setting up a containment system for wastewater runoff, and processing and caring for affected patients in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incident.

"The training prepares us for real-world contamination situations," said Master Sgt. Beth Wakefield, 78th MDG Clinical Laboratory flight chief. "We need to be able to treat patients or get them care."

Once the clock started ticking for the shelter assembly, 23 airmen began dispersing in various directions. Some disappeared bringing back carts filled with equipment: a tent, tables, water heater ... everything needed to begin processing patients.
The tent itself included three separate sections: a center lane for patients who can't walk and are placed on flat surfaces; and two side lanes for those who are mobile and can rinse off.

Tom Bocek, a DECON instructor, travels the world providing education and consulting about CBRN incidents.

During the first few minutes of a situation, he explained, "the first step is triage, sorting the casualties who can be saved. It's all about assessing and making the rounds."
Requirements are to be fully mission-capable, up and operational within 15 minutes.
The team knocked it out in less than half that time.

To be completely set up, the requirement was 20 minutes. The team did that in less than 12 minutes.

On the week's successful training, instructor Don Sampson said, "We just don't know what people are capable of doing so you have to be prepared for it."